Sometimes in life beauty comes from above.  It rains down on you like snow.  So delicate yet so powerful; so beautiful, it causes you to stand still and bask in its spectacle.  Such is the case of Fuchsia boliviana 'Alba'.  It's a semi-evergreen, erect shrub that produces graceful clusters of slender trumpet-like flowers that open and flare their downward tips in opulent color.  It looks like the type of plant Bacchus would have had present at one of his rituals of ecstasy and madness.  Fuchsia boliviana 'Alba' comes to us from the high altitude cloud forests of Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina.  When blooming is in full swing, something about the multiple bunches of buds and bloom displayed is somewhat reminiscent of the visually delicious clustering of lusciously promising grapes.

Fuchsia boliviana 'Alba' can grow to be 12 feet tall and 4 to 8 feet wide.  Slightly arching branches outfit themselves in plushly textured deep green leaves and throughout the year produce dangling clusters of two-tone narrow white trumpet-like buds that open to reveal engaging, tropically pinkish red flowers.  When flowers finish their display, they leave behind edible, subtly flavored, capsule-like black fruits. Fuchsia boliviana 'Alba' looks amazing grown among other structured plants, where it can subtly weave its branches here and there, later producing clustering ornaments of color in surprising places throughout its supporting plant.

Fuchsia boliviana 'Alba' likes part sun to shady situations, fertile, well-draining soil, and regular water.  It doesn't like extreme temperatures and needs protection from frost.  It's hardy down to around 30 degrees fahrenheit/-1 degrees celsius.  It makes a tropically elegant feature plant in a garden or container where in bloom its tropical tassels of color create an alluring air.  For a sophisticated display of tropical temptation try using branches with blooms as cut flowers in supportive vessels indoors or out.

Imagine, if you will, a picture...you're sitting comfortably on a jet, traveling first class, gliding smoothly over distant lands as your airship rides tropical trade winds.  Out the window, down below, you see a mystical green sea dotted with tiny green tropical islands tasseled with golden clouds.  In reality, what you are witnessing is heaven on earth, if you entertain such things.

This mystical moment is brought to you by Nelumbo nucifera also commonly known as Sacred Lotus. Indian Lotus, or Chinese Lotus.  This spellbinding bloom is considered to be the Buddhist symbol of purity, enlightenment, and self-awareness. In bloom, flowers are so mysteriously elegant, so divinely fragrant; floating above luxurious foliage like a floral cloudburst of beauty, they elicit a state of calm in those that witness their powerful purity first-hand.  Nelumbo nucifera comes to us from Asia, India, and Australia.  It is an aquatic perennial plant that grows from tuberous roots anywhere from 6 inches to several feet below water.  Its flower is one of the most coveted in the world.  Not only that...one of these plants can live for up to 1000 years!

Nelumbo nucifera like to grow in still water and sprout only when water temperature warms.  This usually happens late spring/early summer.  They send up big, bold, super-cool, tropical umbrella-like foliage that can measure up to 2 feet across and stand 2 to 6 feet above the water's surface.  Once summer kicks in, plump flower buds rise up to unfurl delicate petals surrounding an otherworldly seed pod that eventually dries into an intriguingly striking structure.  Flowers can open up to an impressive 12 inches wide.  Their fragrance is unlike any other floral scent.  The essence is pleasurably sweet and fruity; lusciously intoxicating.

Nelumbo nucifera like full sun to part sun situations, grow best in planting baskets submerged in water, and should be protected from waters that freeze in winter.  In areas that freeze, when the weather gets colder, the foliage has dried, stop growing, and been cut back, pull baskets from water gardens and store in a cool dry place until spring.  Also, to grow new tubers in baskets, first allow tubers to root in water in late spring, then plant in baskets with water garden medium before placing them underwater for summer growth.  Provide plants with an aquatic plant fertilizer during growth for maximum magnificence.

Whether grown in a water garden, container water garden, or suspended in a vase, Nelumbo nucifera is truly a floral luxury.  Its presence is truly a gift from nature that must be experienced in a lifetime.  Once experienced you will know the meaning of heaven on earth!

Looking like some sort of black light painting of floral fractal design comes something so awesome, so psychedelically stunning, so surreally stylish that you can't take your eyes off of it!  A visual vortex so mind bending you might think that there are clouds in your coffee while Led Zeppelin's Mothership plays on in the background.

Feast your eyes on the future forward fashion of Aristolochia gigantea commonly known as Giant Dutchman's Pipe, Duck Flower, or Pelican Flower.  I gotta give props to my friend Sharon Lowe, one of the floral superstars at Clementine Floral Works/Silver Lake, for kidnapping yours truly and taking me to a secret location in Atwater Village, nearby, to see the spectacle that is presented before you.  I have never seen such a glorious display of Aristolochia awesomeness before.  So psychedelically delicious...it's ridiculous!

Aritsolochia gigantea comes to us from Brazil and parts of Central America.  It's an evergreen, fast-growing vine that twines and twirls with a luxuriously exotic energy. Vines can grow 15 to 20 feet long.  From summer to early winter they produce strikingly spectacular flowers with billowy, flaring calyces festooned with fractal patterns in a combination of deep wine and cream color.  At the center of it all is a mysterious looking vortex the color of a distant sun.  Flowers are usually 6 inches wide and up to 1 foot long!

Aristolochia gigantea outfits itself in beautifully lush, heart-shaped foliage that is around 4 to 6 inches wide.  Flower buds form resembling a cross between an old time pipe and an upturned duck's head.  As the buds mature they begin to take on a form similar to a pelican's mouth.  Now, I know it all sounds so strange but, live and in concert the look is so ultra-vivid-cool it will hypnotize you into a state of joyful, beautiful bliss.

Aritolochia gigantea likes sun or partial shade, regular water, well-draining, fertile soil, and is hardy down to around 32 degrees fahrenheit/0 degrees celsius.  Planted with some support on a fence or trellis it can put on quite a show.  So if you're in the mood for something that's got some funky-fresh-super-psychedelic style try growing this florally fractal fashionista.  Oh, and for something totally different try using some as cut flowers.  They'll make your ordinary...extraordinary!

How many times a day do you fall in love?  The Plant Provocateur falls an awful lot. It's usually the most unusual things that do it.  A quick glance and boom.  Direct hit. In this particular case, it's the architecture and the detail.  Combine that with the simplicity of color and you have something intoxicating.  Filigree, curls, long lashes of form.  Such is the case of Epidendrum parkinsonianum, a pendulous provocateur of orchid perfection.  Seeing this orchid live and in concert is like seeing an exquisitely handcrafted pair of shoes or a drop dead gorgeous luxury car for the first time.  It's got what it takes to make you fall in love.  A love that is mysterious.  When it's in bloom, it lures you in with its perplexing tassel-like flowers.  So simple.  So elegant.  Yet they make you wonder how beauty can constantly transform itself into something so awe inspiring.

Epidendrum parkinsonianum further captures a mysterious essence with its interestingly pendulous succulent foliage.  It hangs down in lucsciously long lithe rivulets of green.  As plants add more foliage the look becomes that of a fountain-like cascade of tantalizingly rich green texture.  On closer inspection, the flowers take on a slightly wicked silhouette.  Its column with frayed anther cap resembles the teeth of something wild.  Delicate danger that exhilarates and  brings further excitement to the experience.

Epidendrum parkinsonianum comes to us from the forests of Central America. Plants can grow into 6 foot long cascades of green showering foliage.  In spring and summer, it produces falling star bursts of greenish white flowers with yellow detail. Flowers dangle out from the foliage and when the sun goes down they emit a delicate, yet subtle perfume.  When plants get large and produce many flowers it is such an arrestingly beautiful sight to see.  Epidendrum parkinsonianum like shaded conditions with bright ample light.  When they receive lots of light foliage tends to take on rich purple tones.  During the warmer months, water this orchid daily either by dunking it or dousing it.  In cooler months cut back to 3 to 4 times a week.  Use distilled water.  Tap water contains minerals that can burn roots.  As for temperature, this orchid thrives in temps between 50 and 95 degrees fahrenheit/10 and 35 degrees celsius.  If you live where temperatures get cooler consider bringing this orchid inside to enjoy its unstoppable exotica.  So, what's not to love?   Unique orchid loveliness. Check. Exotica overload.  Check.  Love mysterious.  Check!

There is something so calming about the purity of blue.  Blue reminds me of floating in the warm caribbean sea while golden rays of sunlight shower down and bathe the scenery with light.  It reminds me of flying above the azure waters of the hawaiian islands where the only thing obscuring the view below are teeny tiny puffs of clouds drifting like fluffy islets over a backdrop of the purest blue.  Blue is a color of paradise.  A color of pleasurable escape.  Coming across it in nature leaves you feeling relaxed yet exhilarated.  That's what I felt the other day when I was traipsing around the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in some of the fiercest heat and humidity I've experienced in a long time.  Luckily for me the trees in the garden are well established and provided some respite from the heat.  While checking out their rock garden I came across a quiet little area that was punctuated by brilliant bursts of blue.  That blue was coming from tall stems of Platycodon grandiflorus commonly known as Balloon Flower, Chinese Bellflower, or Japanese Bellflower.

The big bloom of bountiful blue that these flowers were giving turned my mood from hot and bothered to relaxed and restful.  Then the details that nature designed on the petals and within caught my eye.  Platycodon grandiflorus takes it beauty to a whole other level with rich blue striations on its petals as well as the ethereally elegant structure of its vividly stunning style and anthers.  When you get up close it almost takes your breath away.

Platycodon grandiflorus comes to us from the hillside meadows of China, Japan, Korea, and Siberia.  They are a clumping, deciduous perennial that grow up to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. In late spring, new stems emerge and outfit themselves with rich green foliage.  From mid-summer through autumn, puffy pillowy buds form to burst open into flaring five star petaled 2 to 3 inch flowers of the most beautiful blue. Platycodon grandiflorus also come in other bloom color such as rose and ivory.

Platycodon grandiflorus like full sun to part shade conditions, rich, well-draining soil, regular water, and is hardy down to temps well below 0 degrees fahrenheit (-40 degrees fahrenheit and celsius).  Also, from first hand experience, it looks perfectly happy in heat up to 99 degrees fahrenheit/37 degrees celsius.

These flowers are really beautiful not only in the garden but also as a vivid cut flower. Just cauterize cut ends to prevent any milky sap from leaking out of stems.  When planted in the garden, just cut back stems in winter, leaving some to indicate where it's planted, and come late spring new growth will emerge.  Super easy to care for.  Super cool to grow and know.

Green can be a quiet color of sorts.  It conjures feelings of restfulness and balance. Now add a dreamy, 'draizy', romantic burst of lilac purple color to that green and you'll create an extravagantly restful experience.  Like lying about in a chaise lounge dappled in the warming mediterranean sun with a view of an inviting azure blue atlantic ocean.  One way to capture this experience is to know and grow Cheirolophus canariensis sometimes referred to as Centaurea canariensis.  Let me tell you, this plant is almost an exclusive to The Plant Provocateur because it is rare, endangered, and unusual to find in cultivation.  I saw this beautiful perennial herb blooming in the late afternoon sun in a garden and fell under its spell.  The 2 inch globe-like bursts of powdery purple flowers, set against the rich green fern-like foliage, look as if they would appear only in a daydream.  Something about them seems to capture the eye, calm the senses, and invite you to celebrate the sheer beauty of nature.

Cheirolophus canariensis comes to us from the island of Tenerife off the northern coast of Africa and south of Spain.  Tenerife is part of the Canary Island chain. Coming from a habitat such as this further gives Cheirolophus canariensis some glamorously exotic garden cred.  This perennial herb, as it is botanically known, grows into a shrub-like form up to 3 to 4 foot tall and wide.  It has elegantly, dissected fern-like foliage and blooms from late spring through summer.  It likes full to part sun conditions, well-draining soil, regular moisture, and is hardy down to around 20 degrees fahrenheit/-6 degrees celsius.  If you can find this verdant vision of fashionable foliage and beguiling bloom, get it, and grow it!  Check out botanical garden plant sales.  Who knows...maybe one day The Plant Provocateur will have it for the offering.  What would you think about that?

Remember Duran Duran?  Well today's gorgeous specimen reminds me of a lyric from one of their more provocative hits.  Girls On Film.  Recently, while tripping the light plantastic I came across an exotic floral-fall of a vine.  It had lush exotic foliage and was covered with sprays of cherry and pink flowers that reminded me of falling stars.  Standing before this vine I felt as if I had been transported to the foot of a waterfall of beauty.  It was a very calgon moment.  This bountifully blooming vine is called Quisqualis indica.  It's a woody climber that comes from faraway exotic locales like India, Malaysia, and East Africa.  It's got cool common names like Rangoon Creeper and Drunken Sailor.  It's also commonly referred to as Chinese Honeysuckle.  Whatever you want to call it, Quisqualis indica is all about its floral display.  Anywhere from May to September it can kick out an outrageous outpouring of narrow, 6" long trumpet-like flower buds that first open white at night.  The following days the flower color blushes pink then turns a rich cherry red color.  The display is awesome!  Interesting thing...the flowers kind of smell like a drunken sailor.  A bit heady, tangy, with a touch of fruity funk.  Definitely unforgettable.

Quisqualis indica is not often seen but looks cool to grow.  I hear it's a bit of a runner but if you keep it in check and direct it to cover an arbor or trellis it makes a glamorous accoutrement for a garden setting.  This evergreen vine can grow up to and beyond 40 feet.  Quisqualis indica likes full sun, well-draining, fertile soil, regular water, and thrives best in temps above 40 degrees fahrenheit/4 degrees celsius. However, it is hardy down to around 30 degrees fahrenheit/-1 degree celsius. So that makes it a tender perennial in my book.  The kind you want to bring indoors when the temps are heading below its hardiness.  One other thing to note about this vine is that it is thorny.  The thorns are hooked and can catch you if you're not careful.  With its super sumptuous flowers, fascinating fragrance, and lux look, Quisqualis indica is yet another exotic vine worth knowing and growing.

There is a place in the world that many know as the location of Middle Earth.  Others know it as New Zealand.  New Zealand is a place where the landscape is rugged yet pristine.  The plant diversity of New Zealand is extraordinarily fascinating.  In an area known as Marlborough on the north shore of the south island of New Zealand, known for its world famous wine region and breathtaking beauty, comes a daisy of untold beauty.  Now this is not your ordinary daisy.  It is a daisy of heavenly horticulture.  Let me introduce you to Pachystegia insignis commonly referred to as the Marlborough Rock Daisy.  Pachystegia insignis can be found in its natural habitat climbing, so to speak, and thriving in the crevices of rocky areas and cliffs of the mountains in the Marlborough region.  Of all places, I first saw this plant growing in a glasshouse at the Berlin Botanical Garden in Germany.

When I first saw this flower in bloom I was truly taken by its super cool patterned buds.  Something about the naturally tiled texture made my planting design senses tingle.

Pachystegia insignis is considered an evergreen shrub.  It grows up to 3 feet tall and wide.  It outfits itself with handsome leathery leaves edged in downy white tomentose felt-like fuzz.  That tomentose texture continues on the underside of the foliage and coats stems in woolly white.  In late spring/early summer, flower heads patterned with sophisticated geometric forms rise, are held above foliage, and open to reveal ivory white daisies with buttery yellow centers.  To witness these plants in bloom is to stare into the face of nature's purity.  Beauty uncontaminated. Otherworldly and absolute.

I have grown Pachystegia insignis in both northern and southern California.  It does great in rock gardens, looks cool when paired with delicate looking grasses, and thrives in average, well-draining garden soils.  I just think its such a cool plant because around these parts you'll never see anything like it!  Pachystegia insignis like full to part sun conditions, well-draining soil, and can tolerate hot/dry conditions with occasional water when established.  They're hardy down to around 15 degrees fahrenheit/-9 degrees celsius.  If you find one of these babies...snatch it up and claim it as your own!  Its silver scintillation will satisfy your plantaholic desires and purify your garden lovin' soul!

Have you ever heard the term 'showy flowers'? Well there are showy flowers and then, there are SHOWY flowers.  Here we have one super glamorous example. Check it out.  From tropical parts of India, Africa, and Sri Lanka comes a flower so beautiful it should be pictured right next to the definition of beauty in the dictionary. Let me introduce Gloriosa superba 'Rothschildiana' also known as the Gloriosa Lily. Now this is not your typical lily.  Not by any means.  It's a lily that actually vines and climbs.  Up to 6 feet long!  And as you can see, its showy flowers are show stopping! Cool reflexed petals, voluptuously vivid color, and a nifty nod of floral flare.

Gloriosa superba 'Rothschildiana' grows from tubers.  It thrives in areas with warm weather and actively does its growing spring through autumn.  In late spring/early summer it puts out buds blushed in reddish tones.  Buds burst open to reveal stunningly colorful petals of rich golden yellow blending with blazingly beautiful reds.

It's as if the flowers are on fire.  So dreamy.  So sensually spicy.  Another fascinating feature of Gloriosa superba 'Rothschildiana' is that its foliage is tipped with cool looking curlicue tendrils that help it cling and climb, lifting its beauty upward for all to see.

Gloriosa superba 'Rothschildiana' need a few key things to thrive.  I've already mentioned warm temps.  They like growing with daytime temps in the 70's/low 20's celsius and nighttime temps in the 60's/upper 10's celsius.  They also like full sun to part sun conditions, rich, well-draining soil, and regular water.  Now depending on how dry and insulated their tubers are kept in winter, they can be hardy down to 15 degrees fahrenheit/-9 degrees celsius.  In areas that are wet or colder in winter, it's a good idea to dig tubers up after their growing season, before first frost, allow them to dry, store them in a dry medium such as sawdust or starting plant mix, then replant in spring.  One important thing to note is that all parts of this plant are poisonous so avoid planting around plant eating pets and children.  On the plus side, this plant is pretty much pest resistant.  The other thing to mention is that Gloriosa lilies are pretty difficult to find at nurseries so source them online.  I say get some, grow some, and witness their super glam glorious glow of exotic exquisiteness!  You'll feel beautiful!

When it comes to plants I'm really a detail guy.  The overall presence of a plant is cool but when you look closer that's when the secret of its beauty can really be revealed!  Take for instance this close up image of petals.  They look like ivory streamers of satin spotted with jewels of ruby color.  Absolutely fascinating.  Looking at it makes me feel like i'm in a lap of luxury.  So opulent.  So vividly uplifting. Today's object of beauty is called Calodendrum capense commonly known as the Cape Chestnut, however, it is not a true chestnut.  It just looks like one.  This majestic semi-deciduous tree comes to us from South Africa.  I recently discovered it exploding with bloom nestled in a grove of large established leafy green tree canopies.  There were so many flowers blooming on it I hardly noticed the foliage.

Beautiful pink petals appear like stars with rich ruby centers projecting decadently luscious streamers of petal-like spotted structures known as staminodes.  When you see the profusion of bloom it makes you feel as though you are looking into the face of beauty.  As an added bonus some say the flowers produce a light scent of either lemony-pine or, my favorite notion, a strawberry milkshake.  Butterflies love 'em!

Calodendrum capense can get as large as 30 feet tall and wide with a rounded canopy.  They produce luxurious, glossy elliptical leaves of rich green.  Where temperatures are cool during the winter months foliage takes on a golden autumn color.  When early summer arrives, so do copious amounts of flower buds at the ends of stems.  The buds burst open with such a display it'll take your breath away!  When flowers fade, a cool capsule forms containing seeds for a future generation.  The bark of this tree is used as an ingredient for skin ointments and the seeds of the capsule are considered by the Xhosa people of South Africa to conjure skill and good luck.

Calodendrum capense likes full sun, well-draining soil, regular water, and is hardy to around 20 degrees fahrenheit/-6 degrees celsius.  For my friends in South Africa, what a magnificent specimen tree you have!  In my honest opinion, this needs to be a street tree that everyone is growing.  It would create such an extravagant environment!

There are a few things in nature that we have come to recognize as beautiful beyond imagination but also diabolically dangerous.  Take for instance the Poison Dart Frog from the Amazon or the Blue Ring Octopus of the Pacific and Indian oceans, both are so beautiful but so deadly.  I think in life its always good to appreciate these creatures.  Admire them from somewhere safe and afar.  But what if you could tame the beast for the sake of possessing such beauty?  Well, I say teeth to the wind my friends because there's a delicious demon out there worth knowing and for the brave at heart...worth growing.  Feast your eyes on the vibrant vision of Bromelia balansae commonly referred to as Heart of Flame, Heart of Fire, or the Barbed-Wire Fence Bromeliad.  This bromeliad is like a beautiful big bad wolf of sorts.  What stunning foliage it has!  The better to bedazzle you with.  What amazing flowers it has!   The better to captivate you with.  What deadly hooked teeth it has!  The better to eat you with, well not literally, but they could do some serious damage to a finger, an arm, or a leg.  However, this ferociously fearsome plant deserves to be lauded for its electrifying beauty and unusual exquisiteness!

Bromelia balansae comes to us from Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay.  It is a large terrestrial (grows on on the ground with roots that gather water and nutrients from the soil) bromeliad that likes growing in rocky soils.  It grows as a rosette, reaching a diameter up to 2-3 tall and wide, of long, stiff green leaves armed with some serious flesh cutting teeth.  As the plant matures, its foliage begins to blush in colors of electric orange deepening to fiery red.  As this happens, the plant extends an eruptive red flower spike from its center, outfitted in shorter red toothed stems.  At the center of the spike is a felted torch-like inflorescence holding beautiful white and reddish-plum blooms.  The look is extraordinary and stunning!  It sort of reminds me of the Addams Family plant Cleopatra.  When blooms fade, orange berry-like fruits appear.

Bromelia balansae is definitely one of those plants you plant and leave alone to do its thing. It makes for a great verdant barrier or a super cool specimen in a place where it can be seen, appreciated, but not touched.  It likes full sun to part sun situations, well-draining soil, regular to low water, and is hardy to around 28 degrees fahrenheit/-2 degrees celsius.  Once established it is drought tolerant.  It looks cool planted in a subtropical or cactus garden where its savage beauty can electrify the landscape and cause a scene.  Teeth to the wind, I say.  Teeth to the wind.

It is amazing to me what color can do.  The mood it can set.  The reactions it can create.  Gold as a color has come to represent prestige, wealth, and wisdom.  When the color gold comes into view you can't miss it.  To see it raining down in showers of richly hued flowers can be a truly stunning spectacle.  You just want to bathe in all of its visual lusciousness.  This is what I experience each time I see Cassia brewsteri in bloom.  Cassia brewsteri, also commonly referred to as Leichardt's Bean, is a small evergreen tree from Queensland, Australia.  It's one of those you-don't-see-it-too-often-gotta-have-it trees.  It looks like a tree with the chic cascading floral form of Wisteria, combined with opulently pinnate glossy foliage, a handsome tree trunk furrowed in seductively dark grooves, and an overall branching pattern that looks hazy, draizy, dreamy from afar.

During the seasons of fall through spring seeing Cassia brewsteri in bloom makes you feel so alive.  Flower buds look like reddish-orange lanterns that then open up to reveal and deal a burst of golden yellow-orange petals.  Flowers are arranged in pendulous grape-like racemes the color of deep honey.  As added interest, cool cigar-shaped seed pods form after flowering.  This is indeed a tree for a garden of earthly delights.

Cassia brewsteri comes from wet, tropical areas in northeast Australia, but it does make itself at home beautifully in other tropical and subtropical climates.  It can grow anywhere from 6 -25 feet tall and wide.  It likes full sun to part sun conditions, well-draining soil that can hold some moisture, and regular watering until once established.  Once established this tree becomes drought tolerant.  It's also hardy down to 28 degrees fahrenheit/-2 degrees celsius tolerating light frost.

Cassia brewsteri looks amazing both in the ground and as a small specimen in a container.  It's definitely a 'feel good' plant.  I'd suggest this plant for any subtropical situation that needs a golden glow or a luxurious lift.

The other day while out on a drive around the outskirts of Silver Lake my vision was suddenly consumed by vivid clouds of purple ascending up a lush hillside. Something about this hillside appeared more jungly than usual.  It had a Jurassic Park kind of vibe to it.  The plants on it looked like they were on steroids and the purple clouds floating just above the foliage were captivating.  After some investigating, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that what I was looking at is called Wigandia urens.  Now when I say this foliage has a jungle-like vibe I'm not kidding.

Wigandia urens comes to us from the moderate, temperate altitudes of Peru. Considered a shrub or small tree, this fast grower can reach 12-15 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide.  In the process, it creates a cool looking jungle-like canopy of 12-14 inch long, sometimes larger, rugged yet tropical foliage. So if you're into a subtropical scene look no further!  Very very cool.

Wigandia urens produces beautifully vivid sprays of flowers on the ends of stems from late winter through spring.  When many clusters are in bloom, the purple cloud of color they form above the foliage is spectacular!  It also attracts the hummingbirds and butterflies too.  Foliage and new stems are usually coated with stinging hairs much like those found on stinging nettle so a bit of caution is needed when handling.  The great thing about this plant is that it can grow in temperate Mediterranean regions as well as warm coastal locations. It likes full sun to part shade, moist yet rocky well-draining soil, and is hardy to around 30 degrees fahrenheit/-1 degree celsius.  It is frost tender, however, for it to be flourishing here in Silver Lake on a hillside that experienced frost-like temps last winter as well as experiencing periods of drought, its tolerance to conditions appears to be a bit variable.

Now I hear that Wigandia urens has a reputation for being quite the self sower and grower.  If I were to plant it I'd give enough space so that it could create a small, jungly grove-like setting.  It also does well in containers.  So here I go again...another plant to obsess over.  Super cool giant jungle-like foliage and vivid violet vivaciousness.  I'm in love!