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Please tell me what this is......

herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
in Plants
and put me out of my misery.  Bought this yesterday at my daughter's village fete because I liked it and it reminded me of something I thought I knew as a herb - also in the spirit of expanding my flower knowledge.

Tried and failed to identify it but I just know someone will recognise it, Pansyface did a spectacular job with my supposed 'poppy' seedlings that are in fact balloon flowers. So crossing my fingers.


"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
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Posts

  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,330
    Cotton lavender maybe ( Santolina chamaecyparissus ) its not the easiest to see 
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    That could well be it Perki! It certainly looks like a lavender but not one I'd come across. Probably should give it a haircut and get it in the ground then before it gets too cold, excited to see the flowers next year now.  Thank you.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • HelixHelix Posts: 631
    Do the leaves have a very strong smell when you rub them?  Santolina is quite distinctive.
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    They do Helix, a very acrid, woody smell.  Not like anything I have ever come across, does that sound like santolina?  Rosemary has the woody smell but with an aromatic on top so you don't really notice it and proper lavender is more acid than acrid if you know what I mean.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 82,773
    Sounds like the smell of santolina to me 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    Thank you Dove, I seemed doomed to have purple or yellow as a 'colour palette'  :)
    I grow nasturtiums, tagetes and calendula among the veg and the herb area is pretty much all purple so maybe I should pop it behind the thyme border to break the pattern.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,309
    Looks and sounds like it to me too. I grew it in a previous garden although I don't think it survived. 
    You could always add a bit of white to break up the colours if you feel you have too many purples and yellows. Those two work well together though - especially if the purple is really dark   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    Oh dear Fairygirl that does not bode well - good job its from a fete so didn't cost a fortune!  I succumbed to a couple of white gaura at Hampton this year to try and buck the trend and one is doing wonderfully well but there is a small hole at the site of the other one. Its a mystery! It looks for all the world as if its been pulled down into the ground.

    I grow quite a few herbs and they all seem to be purple naturally - except for the sweet cicely which does make a splash for a while.

    But this plant may not last I guess, anything in my garden needs a strong survival instinct otherwise its history..........
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,309
    I think my conditions weren't suitable though. I probably didn't appreciate that fully at the time.  :D
    I'm a bit ruthless with plants too- I like to try things now and again which I know might not be brilliant, but if they don't thrive, they're binned. If they die - it saves me the effort of binning.....
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,314
    I'm such a rubbish gardener I have to be philosophical about loss or I'd be distressed most of the time!  Its the seedlings that get me every time though, either they all fail or they all grow and if they manage to germinate I feel compelled to give them a chance.

    This plant has no such emotional ties so it will take its chance, I have rosemary and hyssop in the same area so we'll see.

    I know what you mean about trying stuff though, although its usually experimental veg with me but I am trying with the flowers, just a bit clueless. But then dead flowers make good veg compost  :)
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
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