But these were different. I just couldn't seem to pass them by. Sweet little pink flowers with leves like shamrocks. They were blooming in several areas of my daughter's yard, looking so sweet and cheerful. I decided to take a few, and asked her permission. She was thrilled that I wanted something from her yard.
I knew I might regret that action. But so far, I've just been enchanted. They're blooming with the pansies right now. I'm actually thrilled that they survived - they weren't planted for a few days after digging them up. And they weren't actually dug up - more like ripped by hand. But here they are - survivors. I wonder if the fact that they can survive just about anything is a sure sign of invasiveness.
These are oxalis, or wood sorrel. And yes, I might regret this impulse. I'm fully aware they might become a bit invasive. But with such a sweet little flower, would I really care?
Not just pretty but resilient too! Some Oxalis aren't invasive but still resilient, hopefully the one you have is such a plant.
ReplyDeleteI'm keeping my fingers crossed!
DeleteFinally FINALLY Holley Garden...I have some blooms! I am right behind you! Thanks for keeping me inspired during the last few winter days here!
ReplyDeleteWahoo! Amazing how just a few blooms can cheer us up!
DeleteI have these in purple and look forward to them coming up and blooming every spring.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend ~ FlowerLady
I would love them in purple, too. I was hoping they would bloom all year, but I had never noticed them in her yard until this spring, so perhaps they will just be spring bloomers. Thanks for the info.
DeleteThey are pretty little things. You'll know quick enough if they are too invasive for you to keep. I think it always depends on the area too.
ReplyDeleteCher Sunray Gardens
You are so right - I'll find out if they're the invasive kind!
DeleteAre those the same as the white ones that are in all the stores around St. Patric's Day? They are gorgeous but I am never sure that something sold as an indoor plant will survive the winter here.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea. White ones sound very pretty. Didn't realize they were sold as an indoor plant!
DeleteWhat cuties! I've received and enjoyed many pass-along plants; the pain-in-the-you-know-what plants I've purchased. : P
ReplyDeletehaha! I guess I got a bad feeling about pass-along plants when I first started gardening. A friend of a friend (someone I never met) would pass many plants on to me, much to my delight and surprise. I finally realized that ALL the plants she had given me were taking over everywhere! I finally had to tell my friend to let her friend know I didn't need any more plants for my garden!
DeleteBu they are so cute.LOL! Sometimes we can let a little invasive flowers into the garden if they do not take over. I planted Violets in my Shade garden and may regret I did one day too. Have a wonderful weekend.
ReplyDeleteI have a few plants that I'm worrying about this year - not just this one. This was the only one I didn't purchase, though!
DeleteYou know I love them - they look very pretty in your garden (for now - bwahahahaha!).
ReplyDeletehahaha - Yes, we can all laugh now, and hopefully I won't be crying later on. Actually, I think this plant is so pretty I really wouldn't mind it spreading!
DeleteI think I have the same plant in my garden too...passed on by my husbands uncle years ago as a scrappy bundle which like yours...have survived. Our haven't been invasive...just gorjuss xx
ReplyDeleteGood to know! i hope mine behaves just like yours!
DeleteI think you'll always like them! I have the purple Oxalis and I love it. It does sometimes go where I don't want it, but it's very easy to remove. They have little tubers and I think any piece will produce, so it sounds like a nightmare; but I've been growing them for 20 years...in Georgia where the wild things do run wild:)and I still love mine! I'd like to find some of the green, I love the little pink flower.
ReplyDeleteI think I'll like them, too, even if they run wild! I think they are a really pretty groundcover. Good to hear about your experience.
DeleteI don't think you'll regret it. It looks like a slightly more intensely colored version of our Redwood Sorrel, and if it grows like that, it will make a beautiful living green ground cover. If it wanders into areas you don't want it, I expect it will be fairly easy to keep it in check.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info. I had heard lots of bad things about oxalis after I started researching it - good to hear the good!
DeleteThey are very pretty and I hope you won't grow disappointed in them. Sometimes the smaller flowers bring the most joy.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right about the small flowers. I love big flowers, but even the tiny ones are special.
DeleteI think I have these in my flower beds as well. So far they've stayed where they were planted and have not really spread. Perhaps that section of the bed has too much clay to encourage spreading. They have such cheerful little pink blossom and are growing around the irises.
ReplyDeleteMine are in clay soil, in an area away from the rest of the beds, so maybe they won't get out of bounds. To have them growing around irises sounds delightful.
DeleteVery pretty, Holley. I am the same way about pass-along plants, though, too. Some of them can be real thugs. Years ago when we first started gardening a greenhouse owner gave us a start of a plant for free, one that would withstand foot traffic between rocks. We were thrilled, until it started taking over the yard here there and everywhere. It turned out to be Creeping Charlie, and to this day, we still battle it. Oh, he was right, it will withstand anything! He's no longer in the greenhouse business, so hopefully he didn't 'gift' any more rookie gardeners with this obnoxious weed.
ReplyDeleteI love your pretty pink flower!
I think it's when we are new gardeners that some of these pass-along plants take us by surprise. If we knew in advance they would take over the world, we might not be as frustrated - and skeptical! Some are wonderful - but "right plant, right place" is a lesson learned the hard way sometimes!
DeleteI have a ton of it, A TON OF IT, and it frankly is quite welcome as far as I'm concerned... it does grow up and around everything but I don't fill like it kills anything, and one 85 degree day and poof its all gone until next year. I'm also a big fan of the more cultivated forms of oxalis. They bloom all year long here, pretty much.
ReplyDeleteI think you've got the same one. I had never noticed this in my daughter's yard except in spring. I think I'm going to try to find some of those cultivated forms. I really do think they're pretty - and blooms all year long would be sweet!
DeleteHi Holley, just stopping by to say how delightful your blog is. Thanks so much for sharing. I have recently found your blog and am now following you, and will visit often. Please stop by my blog and perhaps you would like to follow me also. Have a wonderful day. Hugs, Chris
ReplyDeletehttp://chelencarter-retiredandlovingit.blogspot.ca/
Thanks, Chris. I'll stop by.
DeleteI have that plant, and love it, but it does grow like a weed - it's OK in a garden like mine where there are no rules. If you try to pull them out, you'll find the roots are made of nodules that just snap off.
ReplyDeleteI did notice the nodules when I was digging them up by hand. I wasn't sure I got enough to really plant, but since they lived, I guess I got enough of it! And my garden rules are relaxing more and more every year!
DeleteLast Mother's Day, my youngest daughter and hubby were experiencing some economic challenges, so they gave me a gift that did not cost them any cash. Katie had a friend whose blue/blackish sages needed to be thinned out. She brought me several, but only two survived. They provided some of the greatest beauty in my beginner garden during an extraordinarily hot, dry summer. They are coming up now and have "babies." I am soooooooooooooooooo excited! Hoping to transplant some of them to a bed that needs filling up.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet gift! And such a sweet story. So glad they lived for you - and that you will have this special gift in another bed, too.
DeleteOxalis didn't like my garden or climate...oh well...very cute flowers
ReplyDeleteIsn't it funny that some plants can be so invasive in some areas, and refuse to live in others!
DeleteI am so glad I found your blog again! I could have sent you all of that Oxalis you wanted.....
ReplyDeletehahaha - Sounds like it's a spreader!
DeleteI have an oxalis in the garden, its been there years and never spreads beyond its allotted space. Hopefully, yours will behave too.
ReplyDeleteI hope so! I really loved the look in my daughter's yard. I really think I'm going to like this plant.
DeleteThe oxalis leaves are lovely, and low, so it makes a great carpet under other plants and looks cool and green in the shady places in summer. I grow a native Oregon one, with white blooms--not the least bit invasive in my garden!
ReplyDeleteI might start planting it all over! It may become invasive just from my own doing!
DeleteI know what you mean regarding pass along plants, but every now and then you end up with a gem. Your Oxalis look very cute, with foliage like clover.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Alistair. I think it depends on how well you know the gardener if you get a gem or a thug. I've had both - thugs from gardeners I really didn't know, and a few gems from some sweet friends.
DeleteHere in the Central Valley, there is a type of oxalis that grows as a weed. It spreads by shooting out seeds, and once it's in your garden it's very difficult to get rid of. On the coast, another type of oxalis grows by bulbets and is becoming invasive, although it does have pretty yellow flowers. Hopefully your pretty pink oxalis is one that behaves itself! It's a big family, and apparently they are not all bad.
ReplyDeleteThe one that shoots out seeds sounds really hard to get rid of! And I have seen a weed that has yellow flowers and pretty leaves, but no, it's not a nice one at all! Not sure if it's the same one as yours. I guess there's so many different types of oxalis you just have to try and see!
DeleteI got a pink sorrell in a trade and love it. Your pictures are lovely!
ReplyDeleteGood to know! I think I'm going to love mine, too.
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