Flower Fest - S for Snow-in-Summer

Last year I was looking for some attractive ground cover for my so-called attempt at a 'rock garden' when I chanced upon beautiful silvery gray-green foliage that came with the promise of white dainty blooms in early summer. It was only after I bought some that I found them growing wild at almost every corner of the trails I walked on! And needless to say, it's considered an invasive plant!



Snow-in-Summer or Cerastium tomentosum are perennials that reseed every year. They thrive in well-drained poor soil and are drought-tolerant. That explains why they grow so profusely around here!



They are called Snow-in-Summer because bloom profusely from late spring to early summer and the teeny white flowers look like a matt of white snow on the silvery foliage. I just have to be careful that it doesn't take over the entire bed!




This is my entry for the letter S in the Flower Fest - the A - Z of Flowers.

Flower Fest is the brainchild of Nature & Me and Sree. Every two weeks, the focus will be on a letter of the English alphabet. The current letter is S. I am submitting photographs of flowers as my entries.

Tags: Flower Fest, Snow in Summer, Cerastium tomentosum

Flower Fest - R for Rudbeckia fulgida

Rudbeckia fulgida or the Black-eyed Susan, as it is commonly known, is a very popular flowering plant. It is an easy-to-grow perennial that is native to the US. It is loved for its bright yellow/orange ray florets and its cone-like head of dark disk florets.


I have some rudbeckia seedlings that are about 7 weeks old now. So when I found out that this plant spreads aggressively by both rhizomes and seed, I wondered whether I am going to have another mint on my hands!


Rudbeckia blooms from mid to late summer into fall. It does well at higher temperatures. So the hotter the summer, the more the blooms! By winter, if the flowers are allowed to go to seed, the finches will have a field day as this is their favorite food.



This is my entry for the letter R in the Flower Fest - the A - Z of Flowers.

Flower Fest is the brainchild of Nature & Me and Sree. Every two weeks, the focus will be on a letter of the English alphabet. The current letter is R. I am submitting photographs of flowers as my entries.

Tags: Flower Fest, Rudbeckia fulgida, black-eyed susan