Color me curious.  Look at this sculpturally sumptuous ornament of scarlet surrealness!  It almost reminds me of some sort of crazy curling brush or an eccentrically colored cuddly echidna.  Check out all those curvaceous curlycues...what in the world?!  Let me introduce you to the evergreen shrub/tree known as Hakea archaeoides.  It comes to us from Australia, is a cousin of the Grevillea genus, and is a member of the Protea family.  Hakea, pronounced hey-kee-uh, which are not seen so much in cultivation, usually sport fairly noticeable flowers but in the case of Hakea archaeoides they are extraordinary.

The cone-like flowers present themselves in spring and summer displaying supercool scarlet styles that extend from glowingly golden perianths.  They look like intricately designed chandeliers of color. The perianths, at the base of the red styles, serve as little honey pots that hold a sweet store of nectar that hummingbirds and bees adore. In my opinion, a truly delicious design!

Hakea archaeoides grows up to 18 feet tall and 12 feet wide if left to its own devices. However, Hakea don't mind some tip pruning, so if you're vigilant, you could keep Hakea archaeoides reined in a bit.  It's extremely cool as a screening shrub or specimen small tree because it seems very unassuming with its handsomely elliptical, narrow green, pinstriped foliage, and calmingly mottled elephant-like trunk(s).  Then when spring comes...BAM!...it produces outrageous ornaments of floral fantasy. Added bonus...new stem growth appears as reddish stems sprouting luxurious new foliage blushed in gorgeous bronze tones.

Hakea archaeoides likes part sun situations, well-draining average to poor soil, regular water, becomes drought tolerant once established, and is hardy down to 25 degrees fahrenheit/-3 degrees celsius.  Oh, and since it's in the Protea family it doesn't like to be fertilized.  Fertilizer can damage or kill this plant.   So why not, like the athletic shoe ad says, think different when it comes to what you plant in your garden.  Yeah, there are Japanese Maples and Elm trees but why not go all punk rock on your garden and get the neighbors talking about what's growing next door. Something like a Hakea would certainly make things more interesting.  Go on then...find one...plant it.  You know you want to.

When it comes to flowers that are freaky-deaky-funky-cool, the Plant Provocateur can't seem to get enough!  Are you seeing what I'm seeing?  Are you turning on your heart light?  'Cuz it looks like the color lemon has gone extraterrestrial.  All the way from Peru comes the perennial known as Calceolaria tomentosa.  It is commonly referred to as Lady's Purse, Pocketbook Flower, Slipper Flower, or Slipperwort.  I need this growing in my garden!  Calceolaria tomentosa tends to thrive in shade, part-shade, morning sun/afternoon shade situations where its lemony luminescent flowers can light up the night, so to speak.

Calceolaria tomentosa has got some serious plant class.  Even though it tends to ramble and roam like a vine or ground cover, something about its velvety perfoliate foliage (leaf base is united around its stems) and downy flower buds give it a lusciously luxe look.

Once Calceolaria tomentosa gets growing, it really kicks its beauty into high gear when it produces its 2" otherworldly opulent flowers of flare!  Blooming can occur most of the year but really pops late spring through autumn.  This particular species is considered a rare find for the garden.  It's not as easy to come by as some of its cousins which you can find at most nurseries, but if you do find it, don't just stand there, get it while the getting is good!

Calceolaria tomentosa likes part sun/shade conditions, well-draining soil, regular water, and is hardy down to temperatures around 30 degrees fahrenheit/-1 degree celsius.  It's also not a fan of climates where temps remain above 80 degrees fahrenheit/26 degrees celsius at night.  It likes things on the temperate side.  One thing to remember about this amazingly cool plant is that it gets about 3 to 6 feet long.  It looks really cool when it's grown at the base of a supporting plant that can provide it with a structure to weave its way around and through.  So beautiful, bright, and unusual!

I love when adaptation results in unexpected beauty.  Let me set the scene for you...it's a fashion shoot for mother nature and today, on set, she's pulling out all the stops.  In this case, the beauty she's giving us is so hot that it explodes with an exquisite ivory elegance!  Let me introduce you to Pseudobombax ellipticum 'Album' commonly known as the Shaving-Brush Tree.  This tree comes to us from Mexico and Guatemala.  On a recent visit to the California Cactus Center in Pasadena I was able to witness this deciduous semi-tropical tree live and in concert. They have a 40 plus year old specimen Pseudobombax ellipticum 'Album' in the ground at their front entrance that, in bloom, will make you fall to your knees in worship.  In winter, this tree's bare branches are not much to look at, but in late winter/early spring large, velvety, cigar-like buds emerge.

Then under the cover of darkness, in the stillness of the night, mature buds burst open revealing 5-6 inch long stamens.  After daybreak, the stamens relax into a willowy, brush-like form, while bud sepals curl like white chocolate shavings on a luscious layer cake providing access to a floral calyx cup filled with rich nectar that both the birds and bees love.

Once the flowers of Pseudobombax ellipticum 'Album' begin to fade, plush, palmate elliptical leaves emerge for the rest of the growing season.  Younger stem and trunk growth exhibits some strikingly cool green, gray, and chocolate streaked coloration. Pseudobombax ellipticum 'Album' can be grown in the ground resulting in a tree that reaches a height around 35 feet tall and wider in maturity.

This tree also makes for a super surreal bonsai specimen plant.  In a bonsai form its trunk is trained to exhibit more of its unique caudex form.  The look of a trained caudex can resemble that of a tortoise shell or an alien rock melon and is highly prized by plant collectors.

Pseudobombax ellipticum 'Album' likes full sun, well-draining, rocky soil, regular water, and is hardy down to around 25 degrees fahrenheit/-3 degrees celsius.  It makes an outstanding garden plant as well as a super cool indoor specimen.

I am obsessed with botanical fragrance.  There is something so evocative about it. Scents can change or enhance states of mind.  They wrap around you, fill you with moments, and make you feel so alive.  Discovering them can be exhilarating.  This is yet another reason why I love plants.  There are so many with amazing fragrances and many have yet to be experienced!  I have a new one for you to check out. Strophanthus gratus also commonly referred to as Climbing Oleander or Rose Allamanda.  I recently encountered this semi-deciduous, semi-climbing shrub/vine and was enthralled by its tropical beauty!  Strophanthus gratus comes to us from western and central Africa. Its 2 inch white flowers are blushed in pink wearing colorful coronas that remind me of crowns.  Flowers produce a seductively tropical rose-like scent.  Softly mysterious yet romantic.

Strophanthus gratus grow with an upright, sprawling branching habit that needs some support in order to climb.  Stems outfit themselves with richly colored, luscious leathery elliptical leaves of forest green.  Grown and supported as a vine the form of Strophanthus gratus is super lux.  As spring growth settles in, buds form for late spring/early summer bloom.  The look is jungle-like sophistication and the floral scent is soothing.  Love, love, love it!

Strophanthus gratus likes full to part sun situations, fertile, well-draining soil, consistent, regular moisture during growing season, and is hardy down to around 28 degrees fahrenheit/-2 degrees celsius.  One other thing to note about Strophanthus gratus is that most parts of it are toxic.  However, there are parts that are used pharmaceutically as a blood pressure medication and heart stimulant.  In contrast, in its native african habitat, its extremely toxic seeds are used as arrow poisons and leaf extracts are used in folk medicine to delay the clotting of blood resulting from snakebites.  With that said, use good judgement when deciding to plant a climbing shrub like this.  Respect the plant.  In return it will respect you with tropical beauty and exotic fragrance.

It's always intriguing to see something so familiar in a new and enthralling form.  It's that newness that drives the need to know and the need to have.  Who hasn't seen a white flower before?  But what about one that takes shape and form into not so chartered territory.  Come closer and see for yourself what lies in the enigmatic eye of a floral needle.  Let me introduce you to the rare and exotic shrub known as Augusta rivalis, also commonly referred to as the Needle Flower.  Augusta rivalis comes to us from Central America where it flourishes along the rocky banks of stream beds.  It gets its common name from the intriguing needle-like form of its unopened 5 inch long, arching flower buds.  Seeing this evergreen exotic in bloom is absolutely alluring.  Imagine seeing it in its habitat extending beautiful branches out over a quiet stream and its long luxurious flowers mirrored in its reflection.  The gentle sounds of babbling water and tropical birds calling out to each other swirling in the air.  So soothing to experience. So tranquil to see.

Augusta rivalis grows up to 3 feet tall and wide.  It tends to bloom continually from February to October.  Blooms tend to open in the evening or on cloudy, overcast days.   It is in the same plant family as coffee and gardenia.  It also possesses a slight fragrance that is said to attract the large and mysterious hawk moth.  If you are not familiar with hawk moths, know that they are incredible cool.  They are large moths that resemble hummingbirds.  They have the ability to hover when they sip nectar and prefer to dine during twilight.  Augusta rivalis offers them an elegant 'flute' of floral champagne.

Augusta rivalis definitely sets a sensual mood with its rich, green glossy leaves and beguilingly beautiful exotic flowers.  It likes to grow in full sun or part shade situations, acid to neutrally moist soils, as well as warmth and humidity to flourish.  It is hardy down to the low 30's fahrenheit/0 degrees celsius.  It looks awesome in a container or planted in a lush garden setting.   Familiar with moonlight gardens? This would be an amazing plant for one.  So beautiful, so mysterious.  The kind of plant that makes you want to surrender yourself to an enticingly exotic elegant mood.

Recently, on a visit to the amazing Kartuz Greenhouses in Vista, CA, I came across these dreamy beaming sunburstin' blooms.  These flowers were sunshine supernova-ing all over the strikingly sculptural structure of a plant and pumpin' out some positive vibes in the stillness of the greenhouse.  The plant that I'm speaking of is called Uncarina grandidieri sometimes commonly referred to as the Mousetrap Tree.  It's a rather nifty succulent plant that comes to us from the island of Madagascar.  Madagascar is home to some of the most unique plants and animals in the world!  Uncarina grandidieri, a member of the Sesame family, is definitely a beautiful example of this biodiversity.

Uncarina grandidieri is in the group of plants known as caudiciform or fat plants. These are a group of succulent plants that store water and nutrients in their swollen trunk or roots.  In its youth, the swollen roots and trunk of this plant remind me a bit of a taffy pull.  Crazy, ropey forms of root look as if they are pulled every which way. The look is beautifully strange and a bit sci-fi.  Uncarina grandidieri is considered a deciduous tree.  It can be kept small in a container or given room in a large vessel or the ground where it can grow up to 10-12 feet tall with a canopy reaching up to 8 or so feet wide.  During its growing period it produces soft, sticky, velvety green foliage with rich red margins.  Spring through autumn it produces fuzzy buds that bloom as boldly sleek and unique 2" flowers with deep yellow color and rich rouge-black throats.  The face of the flower tends to present itself in a flattened platform-like way providing a runway for those jet set pollinating insects.  The plant gets its common name from the seed pods that form after flowering.  It produces husky, bulbous pods with small stalk-like structures tipped with inward pointed barbs that are designed to stick or latch to anything.  The pods are very architectural.

Uncarina grandidieri likes to grow in full sun or bright shade conditions outdoors and bright light conditions indoors.  It grows best in a well draining soil or cactus mix, likes regular water during its growing periods, does best kept dry during its winter dormancy, becomes drought tolerant once established, and is hardy down to around 32 degrees fahrenheit/0 degrees celsius.  I like seeing it small as a houseplant in a container but if you live in a warm region, seeing it get large and tree-like in the ground is an extraordinary sight!  This is a plant for those who like a little something different going on in their garden.  Very unusual!

Imagine a place where the ground touches the sky.  A place where the trees catch passing clouds, hold them, and filter their moisture to the environment below. Sounds pretty mystical doesn't it?  Well, in reality, there are a few places in the world where land and cloud converge to create what are known as cloud forests. One such place is Mexico.  Cloud forests can be tropical or subtropical.  But, in my opinion, it is where they are temperate that things become interesting, especially the plant life they produce.  One such amazing specimen perennial shrub to come from the Mexican Cloud Forest is the electrifying Bartlettina sordida also commonly called the Purple Torch or Blue Mist Flower.  Look at these flowers.  They look like live wires of electric lilac loveliness.  Oh, wait...what you are seeing above is only the start of the show.

SHAZAM!  Here are the flowers heads of Bartlettina sordida in full, shag-a-delicately sumptuous, bloom!  Seeing it bloom reminds me of watching a firework bursting in slow motion with the end result looking like a luminous cluster of colorful candy floss.  The scent that unfurls from these filaments of fantasy is a heavenly combination of luscious lilac with the slightest tones of sweet and spicy honey. The butterflies go gaga for this plant!

I discovered Bartlettina sordida some years ago when I purchased it from Annies Annuals.  I planted it in a bright but shady area with great air circulation.  In one season it grew into a 4 foot tall and wide shrub.  In its second season it grew 8 feet tall.  It kicked out some lushly large plush tropical leaves etched in rich rosy purple venation.  We're talking leaves the size of dinner plates!  In spring, it produced clusters of tightly bound buds at the ends of its stems.  Around April the buds began to burst open and by early May the flower heads were in full effect looking like an electric dream.

Now if you have a bright, shady place that gets good air circulation and has moist, rich, fertile, well-draining soil, then you've got a spot for a Bartlettina sordida.  This plant likes regular water and appreciates a feeding of fertilizer during the warm, growing season.  It is pretty hardy down to about 25/30 degrees fahrenheit or -1/-3 degrees celsius.  One thing to note about this Bartlettina is that its foliage gets pretty beat up during the winter months.  My suggestion is that come spring, prune any tall, gangly canes of the plant down to just above it's second stem node and strip any spent leaves.  Give it some fertilizer and watch for new shoots.  More than likely, it'll come back even more bushier and luscious than ever.  More stem growth means more bloom.

I say, if you're interested in giving your situation some interesting tropical impact, find yourself a Bartlettina sordida and get growing.  It is one plant that radiates a stylishly exotic allure like no other.

Nothing like capturing an intimate moment.  Here we have a honeybee gettin' busy and bedazzled with a flower that looks like it's giving us rays-of-the-sun realness. Rich yellow color.  Stigmas looking like sun beams.  Nature in its finest hour.  But wait.  Something super-fantastic-crazy-cool is going on behind the scenes.

Let me introduce you to one of California's finest native  shrubs, Peritoma arborea. Peritoma arborea is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub that gets to be about 3 - 6 feet tall and wide.  From late autumn through midsummer, it produces inflorescence of strong, exuberant yellow flowers rich in color and ornament.  So beautiful and energizing.  Yet, that's not the end of the show from this California native.  As the flowers fade, this shrub's excitement takes on a different form.  A bizarrely, captivating form that makes it seem like a plant from another world.

Flowers fade and its strangely, surreal 2 inch pods that take over.  These balloon-like pods give Peritoma arborea its rousing common name of Bladderpod.  Small seeds are held in these pods.  As they mature, they provide the pods with a rattling sound. These puffy, inflated pods remind me of overgrown packing bubbles when squeezed and popped.  Pretty cool.

The other great thing about Peritoma arborea is that its flowers provide rich nectar nourishment to hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. It's also a pretty tough customer when it comes to harsh elements such as drought and deer.  If things are too dry it can go deciduous to survive a spell and deer are not fond of the foliage.  To grow Peritoma arborea give it full sun, average soil, and low water.  It's hardy down to 0 degrees fahrenheit/-17 degrees celsius.

This is one California native that I'm crazy about.  It's the perfect plant for keeping the wilderness weird and wonderful.  Blooms just about year round, adorns itself with bizarrely beautiful seedpods, and is as tough they come.  Get it!  Grow it!  Know it!

Have you ever watched the coils of an electric stove heat up and glow?  Here's nature's simulation.  Throw in some silken flower petals and set the color to flambé. The energy here is hot and spicy like looking into the mouth of a volcano.  What should we bring to sacrifice?!  Got anything drab and dreary?  Here we have the outstandingly opulence of Eschscholzia californica 'Mikado' commonly known as the Red California Poppy.  This has got to be, what I consider, one of the most beautiful wildflowers in the world.

Eschscholzia californica 'Mikado' is a red version of the California poppy.  The straight species, simply Eschscholzia californica, is a rich orange color.  I find Eschscholzia californica 'Mikado' to be in a class of beauty all its own.  There's something about its radiant red color with orange low lights that is absolutely magnificent!  This annual Californian wildflower is pretty easy to grow.  It's both heat and drought tolerant and tends to self sow for future displays of electrifying color. Plants tend to grow 6 - 12 inches tall and around 1 foot wide.  They outfit themselves in bluish grey-green, fern-like, frilly foliage.  Once flowers form they open with sunlight and remain closed when it's cloudy or overcast.  They also tend to look amazing when planted en masse giving us a California wildflower meadow vibe.

Eschscholzia californica 'Makido' like full sun, regular to average soils, and regular to low water.  Plant them via seed in autumn and in colder climes try spring.  Once they get growing and flowering you can expect blooms spring through summer.  They'll give you some gorgeous contrast between foliage and flower setting their flora on fire with a lavish electricity .

What's happening here?!  Looks like we've got a five-alarm florific fire going on!  This foliage is ablaze with some super electric ember-like color that reminds me of a smoldering sunset.  Are you feelin' the floral fever going on here?!  May I introduce, Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow' sometimes referred to as Griffith's Spurge.  I first saw this amazing deciduous herbaceous perennial Euphorbia growing in a garden in Europe some years ago.  It was planted en masse and was burning up the landscape with some serious eye-catching color.  At first, I thought all of the color came from the flowers but then, in fact, I realized that its bracts were doing the bulk of the blazing. I had to have it!  The next year I got myself some, planted it, and watched as it set my garden on fiya!  Its effervescence made my backyard come alive.

Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow' is plant of many talents.  First, it's got fresh, apple green new growth that in autumn transforms into vibrant orange, crimson, and gold color. Secondly, it has vibrant red and fuchsia color running through its stems and mature foliage veins that give it a warm glow.  Lastly, who needs fancy flowers when you can let the foliage create the dreamlike drama of a shimmering summer sunset.  The actual flowers themselves look more like teeny, tiny, space age  tassels adorning the brilliant blaze of bracts.  The look is exceptionally unique.

Euphorbia griffithii 'Fireglow' is a pretty hardy deciduous herbaceous perennial that likes part sun conditions, well-draining soil,  and regular to low water .  It comes to us from the Himalayas, so guess what?  It's pretty hardy down to -25 degrees fahrenheit/-31 degrees celsius.  It tends to grow 2-3 feet tall and wide.  If you decide to grow this beautiful bush-fire-of-blazing-color, one way to keep it looking lush is to prune old stems down to the ground in winter.  This will encourage it to produce numerous new stems in spring and numerous new stems means abundant bursts of color come spring, summer, and autumn. My suggestion...find yourself some and catch the fever of the fire glow!

Transport yourself, if you will, to the forests of Asia and northern Australia.  Worlds away, perhaps, from what you know.  Let the peaceful quiet surround you only to be occasionally broken by the call of some tropical birds on the wing.  As you take in the experience you begin to inhale the swirling fragrance of something familiar yet different.  Delicate notes of a lilac fragrance with a tropical twist fill the air.  You look above and only, at first, notice the dappled warm sunlight streaming through breaks in the tree canopy overhead.  As you adjust your focus, you then begin to notice fine sprays of white flowers tinged in purples and blushed with pink color peppering the tropical forest foliage above.  The intoxicating fragrance you savor falls from these delicate flowers.  These flowers belong to the tropical forest tree known as Melia azedarach.  This tree has many common names...Pride-Of-India, Texas Umbrella-Tree and Persian Lilac to name a few.  I recently discovered this beautiful tree while walking the verdantly lush neighborhoods of Pasadena.  Its scent lured me like a moth to a flame.

Melia azedarach is in the Mahogany family.  It could be considered a tropical version of an Ash-like tree.  This sometimes semi-evergreen/deciduous tree can grow up to 25 feet tall and wide.  It outfits itself in gorgeous, smooth textured pinnate leaves on 2-3 foot stems giving it a lush yet graceful look.  As it matures, its canopy can take on a form resembling an inside-out umbrella.  Now, many consider this tree to be a weedy, invasive thing.  I'm of the mind that if you control something like this and keep it in check it can serve as a beautiful specimen.  As the saying goes, one person's trash is another one's treasure.  Melia azedarach likes full sun, fertile, well-draining soil, and is hardy down to 5 degrees fahrenheit/-15 degrees celsius.  One other thing to note about this tree is that after flowering it sets bead-like fruit that is toxic to all animals except birds. Now, I know this can turn people off, but you should know that there are great numbers of plants we grow in our homes, gardens, and offices that are just as toxic. My advice, when it comes to any plant, always research what you're growing or buying.  Like anything else in nature, respect your plants and they'll respect you in return.  Doing so with a tree as beautiful and fragrant as Melia azedarach is so worthwhile.