What's your Passion Plant?

I have become obsessed with chillis and have ordered and managed to scrounge seeds of some pretty amazing varieties. Of course if I'm allowed I will include some of these in the next ERR!!!! I have some cute little Brazilian Cheiros and a purple variety called Pimienta da Neyde (you'll have to wait till ERR4 for these as I only have 5 five seeds)

It is very easy to become addicted to chillis and I feel like a drug pusher to try and get you all turned on to capsaicin. But to be fair there is more to chillis than pure fire. There are subtle flavour variations which make them so much more interesting than merely blowing your socks off!!!

Get in touch if you're interested

Hasta luego amigos Europeos

Lizzy

The picture is of immature Capsicum baccatum pendulum (Friars Hat) mildish - flavoursome very decorative and a talking point!

LOL Thankfully I don't particularly like to eat peppers, either sweet or hot, a little bit of either is fine. My brother grows them though, there's such a dazzling array of colours and shapes aren't there! I can see the fascination.

I collect Digitalis species for my sins, I've not had many growing this year, I don't grow each one every year I collect the seeds and sow them when I feel like it, lifes too short to dance attendance upon one genus! Then again I also tend to have a few Viola and Primula species and previously a few terrestrial orchids too. So many plants and too little garden ;)

Don't know what you're missing Baa - there's nothing like a little fire on the tongue. Some say it puts lead in your pencil too Ha ha!

I know what you mean about not having enough space for everything you'd like to grow. My mum's favourite plant is foxgloves (common one). She lets them freely seed about in her sunken garden (she lives off Kanes Hill near Burseldon) and they really do take your breath way en mass like that.

Sounds like you're a natural/native flower gardener. Thanks for your reply. It gives me a picture of you in my mind.

Baa, i love foxgloves too, but they don't seem to like me!!...every year I grow loads, plant them out, and they struggle to survive, let alone put on a show...the only ones that do well for me are the perrenial ones with the little yellow flowers(memory loss here as to name) yet my friend who lived opposite me, when she planted plants from me, hers grew huge, and self-seeded eveywhere...sods law.

I'd love to succeed withe reddy coloured one (spanish?) but again managed to germinate them, grew them on, planted them out, they promptly withered away and died..

Bizzylizzy I'm growing chilli peppers this time for the first time,I've never really eaten them before, but son did tuna steaks with a lime, chilli and corriander sauce...mmmm...
I'm afraid these are just plain old chillies 99p from B&Q as mice got in and eat all my seeds in pots in the greenhouse at the start of the year...
they seem to be doing well so far, also the pepper plants I got from the same store.

My passion at the moment (it changes from month to month ) is Salvias, I have quite a few different ones, most of which I have no idea what they are as labels got lost, faded etc.I adore the vivid blue ones.Two pf which I planted last year and thought I'd lost, only just to find them coming up through other plants again..

Arrrgh sueone!!! Bad luck on the mice invasion...how annoying. BTW - there are some chillis that are all flavour and not much heat, when I find them I will send some seeds and mark them for you in the ERR. Chillis have an affinity with coriander and lime - also with tomatoes (salsa) Sounds like heaven to me.

I tried Salvias in England and never had success - our soil was heavy silt on top of heavy clay!!!! Do you think they would do better here in Spain? What's your soil like?

I too adore that blue flower in your photo - is it your plant? Stunnning!!!

Thanks bizzylizzy, I never really really eat chillies before because I assumed that they'd be very hot, I was given one to eat raw once as a joke by someone, which put me off a bit, the first bite was o.k....then the pain and fire struck!!...so i never tried them agagin after that until James said to take the seeds out and mixed with other ingredients.

Yep the salvis was one of mine, photo taken last year, this is one of the ones i thought lost this winter, but now emerging thankfully.I've managed to save some seeds already from one of them if you're interested.I think they do o.k in my garden as the soils quite sandry and very free draining, and being close to the sea not too cold in the winter.

I like trying different peppers, but usually sweet ones. This year I am growing a chilli pepper too from Real Seeds. It is called Albertos Locoto 'C. pubescens' and is described as having fuzzy leaves, purple flowers, black seeds, small thick fleshed fruit. It is said to be pretty hot but warming rather than burning heat and lots of flavour too. It is also perennial and should fruit for several years if over wintered in a frost free place.

They are growing nicely, but haven't flowered yet, so I haven't been able to taste them, but they sound very good.

I like Salvias too, but they don't do very well here, I think the soil is too heavy, it is also slightly acid, so they do OK for a season then disappear. I the blue one you show called Cambridge Blue? I grew one a couple of years ago and it is a wonderful colour.

I don't really have a passion for one particular variety, but my most pampered plants are my lemon tree, banana plant and the insectivorous Saracenia. They should feel very honoured as I usually neglect anything in pots to the point of cruelty.

Ooooh Patbarr - you cruel thing you! I'm just the opposite with plants. The ones in containers get the most attention and what ever makes it in the ground makes it on it's own (after the requisit settling-in period of course)

I am growing that Alberto's locoto too but mine have only just germinated. They do sound interesting don't they. Looking forward to hearing your verdict as I don't think I'll get any fruit this year. I might try one in the ground too.

Do let us know how the Alberto's turn out.

Ooooh hard to choose ...there's so much to enjoy..At the moment I 'm fascinated with thymes..special the scent of it ...they all have a different 'bouquet'...

Sue...did you have bad luck with Digitalis obscura perhaps..? My seedlings of it have failed in the same way. But D. lamarckii and D. laevigata are doing well..

Lenne

I am getting into herbs too. I have one little variegated one - I think its lemon-ish scented. But I have just ordered some seeds of Thymus, Silver Poise which I am looking forward to growing. collecting plants is so addictive isn't it.

My inddor plants really suffer, they tend not to get watered until I notice they're on the verge of extinction!!...having said that a Streptocarpus that a friend gave me a cutting of flowers fantastically...and someone told me that it does so because I treat it mean...so it does help sometimes(I'll ignore the others that have demised due to my poor house-plant skills)

Saya, I guess I'm just not supposed to grow foxgloves, though plants do have a way of appearing in places that I haven't planted them, and they're normally the ones that do really well, guess they like to pick their own spots, shame they can't pick up their roots and walk to plant themselves in the ideal spots...

My soil is parched dry here, as with most years recently...so this is where i guess that maybe we need to adapt to the climate change.

Sueone

The brown flowered types should do well for you but if your soil is free draining then they might appreciate a bit of shade. I'm happy to send you a (named) mix of species to try if you like?

D. obscura is a big primadonna when it wants to be although the botanists are thinking of putting it into Isoplexis instead.

I'd love to try some please Baa, I'm determined to suceed with them, though it's probably easier just to give up and grow what I know does well here...

I put the sprinkler on last night,up in the top garden, I hate using that ,but there's so many plants wilting now and dying that I have to do something.I'll go and check in a while see how they've (hopefully )revived.

The lawn looks completely dead and yellow, but I'm not overly bothered about that, it'll revive once it rains.

I'll got onto that Sueone

Our garden is pretty much the same and we're considering a sprinkler or other methods for next year, it's been impossible this year, the poor plants are really suffering. Come to think of it so am I LOL 22-25C is about the comfort zone, above that, especially with this high humidity, and I become increasingly useless ;)

I do love foxgloves too and they do pretty well here - it's a shame they're not perennial! They do selfseed though so I hope the seedlings survive till next year to flower! I sowed two new ones this spring 'Primrose Carousel' which is supposed to be a primrose yellow and 'Camelot Cream'. I'll have to wait until next year to see how they flower but I can't wait.
I don't really know what my passion is - there are so many plants I like. I collect hardy Geraniums, Dianthus, Primulas, Campanulas - I guess those are my favorites. And then I just started with the Roses - don't know where that will lead. Having a bit of trouble with blackspot and powdery mildew - I have to go out a buy something for them.

Chillies I don't care for - too hot for me! I don't like food that doesn't have much flavour and only has a sting - my tastebuds are used to more subdued seasoning!!!