The Plant Provocateur Shop – Opening March

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Hank — 7 Comments ↓

|Palm Frond Kaleidoscope|

Hello everyone and Happy New Year. 2015 is gonna be a BIG year for The Plant Provocateur! After all the talk, after all the dreaming, I’m finally taking the leap and opening a brick-and-mortar plantasy. In fact, I’m typing, this very post, from the cabinet of curiosities that will be the official Plant Provocateur HQ. I say cabinet because being a first time shop keeper I’m going to keep things a bit intimate. You know me…provocative.

|TPP Shop Coming Soon|

So here’s the deal. The Plant Provocateur shop is currently under way with a teeny tiny build out. New lighting, shelving, a little of this, and a little of that. My aim is to get those doors open sometime early to mid March. Crossing fingers, toes, and the beard beneath my nose…things will get growing as planned.

|Aloe Kaleidoscope|

Now what can you expect? Beauty, intrigue, and mystery. The shop will feature signature live plants. I’ve been searching the world for crazy cool heirloom, exotic, unusual, badass plants, the likes you have never seen. So they’ll be here. Also, in a slightly different direction, I will be offering cut flowers on a small scale. Now, I won’t be a full blown florist but I will feature some cut florals from time to time. Also, for the locals out there, I am providing these pieces by appointment.

|Bromeliad Kaleidoscope|

Let’s see what else? Oh yeah, The Plant Provocateur will feature a select display of furnishings and ‘figments’ for inside and out. I’m pretty excited about this and can’t wait to share with you the cool things I’ve found. Also, the shop will feature occasional classes and featured speakers. If the subject relates in anyway to the botanical world around us…we’ll be talking about it.

|Magnolia kaleidoscope|

So a lot of people, have asked, “What will The Plant Provocateur be about?” You know when you start a business it’s always a good idea to have a mission statement; something that defines the very being of what the heck it is you’re about to do. Well mine is simply this… Inspire With Plants. Yeah, you may of heard it before. It might sound a bit cliché, but wait and see what I do with this mission. I’ve been feeling extraordinarily creative as of late. I hope to explore things that are beyond our expectations. I call it the Future Flora Initiative. I want you to fall in love with plants and what they inspire, perhaps in ways you never thought you would. Like the saying goes…big things have small beginnings. Well, that’s how it will start. Now, moving forward, my mission is to make it exciting and thrive. Stay tuned.

|FiddleHead Kaleidoscope|

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Give 2 Me Your Leather. Take From Me My Lace. – Alsobia dianthiflora

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Hank — No Comments ↓

|Alsobia dianthiflora petal detail|

So lately, in my world, a hot topic has been super sexy houseplants. I know that might sound a bit racy for some of you, but, I’m talking about houseplants that offer a little more than a lump of static greenery. Now don’t get me wrong, there are some outstanding green foliage houseplants out there. You just gotta know where to look. In my travels this summer, I stumbled across a plant that I don’t see too often. Don’t know if you’ve met? Everyone…this is Alsobia dianthiflora. Alsobia dianthiflora this is everyone.

|Alsobia dianthiflora flowers|

In some circles, this gorgeous angel of elegance is referred to as Episcia dianthiflora and commonly in others as the Lace Flower Vine. It is in the gesneriad family of plants. You know some of Alsobia’s common name cousins…African Violet and Gloxinia. When I first saw the fringe and frill of its dreamy, illuminating ivory flowers I was a goner. So elegant yet so savage. Be still my horticultural heart! Alsobia dianthiflora comes to us from the climes of places like southern Mexico and Costa Rica. It is a perennial plant that is replete with sumptuously soft, downy deep green leaves and produces stunning white trumpet-like flowers, whose petals are detailed in a filigree of white foxy fringe. As an added bonus, for those who like to look a bit closer, the throat of each flower is delicately spotted with dreamy drops of violet color.

|Alsobia dianthiflora foliage + flower + form|

Alsobia dianthiflora likes bright, indirect light, shady spots, and can tolerate a part-sun situation outdoors. It vines up to around 3 feet long if it’s happy and gets about 8″ tall. It’s low and likes to stroll. It likes to set its roots down in a well-draining, fertile soil and prefers regular water. It’s hardy down to around 35 degrees fahrenheit/1.6 degrees celsius, if outdoors. I keep mine on the porch and let it creep and sprawl its way around. Looks so luxurious that way. It also does well indoors and makes for one sexy houseplant. So if you’re in the mood for a houseplant with a lush, plush, knight-in-white-satin kind of vibe… look for, find, and grow Alsobia dianthiflora. You can find them online here. You might even find them at The Plant Provocateur. Huh?! What’s that you say? Stay tuned…

Tagged with: #houseplants, #whiteflowers
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Tantalizing TriColor Sunset Supernova – Stictocardia beraviensis

Posted on July 5, 2014 by Hank — No Comments ↓

|Stictocardia beraviensis floral flares|

Outside it’s hot, hazy, and humid. My daily diorama is complete with blue skies and fluffy thunderhead tufts playing hide and seek behind the San Gabriel Mountains. Yep, summer in L.A. is in full swing! The Plant Provocateur Botanical Garden is killing it right now with crazy cool flowers and fragrances. One such standout is the Stictocardia beraviensis vine that is kickin’ out some tantalizing tricolor sunset supernovas. Check it!

|Stictocardia beraviensis bud + flower + detail|

Isn’t the color ridiculous!? So vibrant, so rich. Très tropical! Stictocardia beraviensis is commonly referred to as the Hawaiian Sunset Vine or Braveheart Vine. It is related to the Morning Glory vine. Although there’s mention of Hawaiian in its common name, this vine comes to us from tropical Africa and Asia. It’s a lightning fast growing/twiner that can cover a fence or wall in no time.

|Stictocardia beraviensis tendril + texture|

Stictocardia beraviensis can grow in sun or shade. It outfits itself in gorgeous, luxuriously pleated, heart-shaped leaves. Leaves in the shade can grow up to 1 foot wide giving off some serious tropical realness. In the sun, leaves grow up to 1/2 that size but still cover their vines in a tropical tapestry of verdant voluptuousness. Vines can grow 10 to 12 feet long. From spring to fall, it produces dramatically dreamy, 2 to 3 inch wide, cup-shaped flowers that will remind you of the most beautiful hawaiian sunset. Their ultra-vivid color will carry your senses away to a tropical island complete with tropical breezes, beaches of white sugar sand, azure ocean, and tall tiki glasses spilling over with Mai Tais. Who’s with me?!

|Stictocardia beraviensis bud + flower + foliage|

In warmer climates, this evergreen vine will even bloom in December and January. It prefers to grow in well-draining soil, receive regular water, and is hardy down to around 30 degrees fahrenheit/-1 degrees celsius. I find mine defoliates a bit when the temps drop below 40 degrees fahrenheit/4.5 degrees celsius but springs right back with a vengeance when the temps heat back up. Also, big bonus for container gardeners, it does great in containers. Wanna create a cool tropical vibe on your balcony? Try growing this in a container and let it wrap its way around your railings or some trellis action. In no time, you can have a tropical backdrop for the perfect ‘stay-cation’!

So, if you’re an exotic plant nut like I am, search the internet, look high and low for this super cool, super sexy vine. It’s totally worth it! Maybe one day, The Plant Provocateur might be able to offer some up. Stay tuned!

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Whiplash White Burns With A Heavenly Hotness – Michauxia campanuloides

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Hank — 2 Comments ↓

|Michauxia campanuloides in fantastical flower|

Our story begins a few years ago when I spied a mysterious beauty in the pages of a catalog. Now, understand, the purpose of this catalog was to seduce the reader with tales and promise of unfathomable beauty and what I’d call ‘exotitude’…exotic attitude. The pictures contained within this catalog succeeded in inebriating me with a plant lust so powerful and possessive that I had no defense when it came to resisting its charm! And now, I can confess to the world that, although I’ve said I’m not a huge fan of white flowers, I have now eaten those words and savored their exhilarating taste. The overpowering, seductively alluring flowers of Michauxia campanuloides have made me a true believer in the powerful beauty of white flowers.

|Michauxia campanuloides bud + bloom|

Michauxia campanuloides also commonly called Michaux’s Bellflower or Rough-Leaved Michauxia is a short lived perennial or biennial in the Campanulaceae family that comes to us from the Israel, Lebanon, and other parts of the eastern Mediterranean.

|Michauxia campanuloides foliage + form|

Michauxia campanuloides can grow to be up to 6 feet tall with wide spreading stems up to 3 feet if not supported. Supported, it takes on a tall, narrow, upright profile. It starts off with a compact basal clump of bristly leaves that produce stout stems that telescope upward to form arching canes jeweled with solitary, nodding white flower buds reminiscent of white pastry bags filled with fondant. When the buds open in late spring and summer they reveal an elaborate array of arresting flower form… a crown-like calyx, curly semi-corkscrewed petals, and a crazy octopus-like stigma. It’s almost a visual overload. Provocative indeed! Also, a stunning candidate for those who dig cut flowers.

|Michauxia campanuloides floral detail|

If the fascinating flower form weren’t enough, Michauxia campanuloides flowers exude a deliciously dreamy fragrance of delicate hyacinth! Now that’s pure heaven in my book. This biennial plant is fairly easy to grow. It likes full sun to part-shade conditions, well-drained soil, regular to low water, and is hardy down to around 0 degrees fahrenheit/-17 degrees celsius. This is one floral fantasy that must be experienced to be believed. Once you witness it’s beauty, I’m positive it too will become one of the top flowers on your list. Find it! Grow it! Soon you won’t have to look that far…stay tuned…

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The Sugary Gloss of Persian Mimosa Floss – Albizia julibrissin

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Hank — No Comments ↓

|Albizia julibrissin filaments|

My last post created a bit of controversy! I featured a plant called Tamarix ramosissima. I got quite a few comments about how some people see it as nasty weed. One thing you should know dear reader, is that one person’s weed is another person’s wonder. When it comes to my love of plants, I often fall into the later category. Plant life is my drug, my addiction. As a result, much of my taste, when it comes to plants, is on the provocative side. Sometimes beauty isn’t always pretty or well behaved, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be fascinated by what it displays. Such is the case of this post. First, I want to kick things off with the above image. What you are experiencing above is a visual explosion of silky stamens from the flowers of Albizia julibrissin also known as Mimosa, Silk-Tree, or Persian Silk Tree.

|Albizia julibrissin foliage|

Here we have another case of one person’s weed and another person’s wonder. Albizia julibrisson is native to Persia and Asia. It is a deciduous tree known for its lushly tropical, fashionably fern-like, bipinnate foliage and its ethereal eruption of diaphanously delicate floss-like flowers, which burst forth in late spring from clustering constellations of delicate buds. One cool feature to note is that this tree folds it foliage closed at night or during long periods of rain. It’s a tree of many moods…I love that concept!

|Albizia julibrissin buds|

I recently came across one of these trees in my neighborhood while walking Lulu.

|Lulu Chillin’ After Our Walk|

Ironically, it wasn’t the display of candy floss flowers that immediately caught my attention. It was the fragrance in the air that wrapped around me and lifted my senses upward. You see the flowers have a very delicate, soft gardenia/jasmine like fragrance. When they are blooming en masse the scent is absolutely captivating! Makes you feel like you’re in mysterious locale a million miles away that smells exotically sensual; beckoning you to lose yourself in paradise.

|Albizia julibrissin form + bud + flower|

Albizia julibrissin can grow up to 40 feet tall, with a broad fleecy canopy reminiscent of the iconic trees one can see growing in the Serengeti. This deciduous tree likes full sun or part shade conditions, summer heat, regular water, well-draining soil, and is hardy down to around 10 degrees fahrenheit/-12 degrees celsius.

Now, Albizia julibrissin can be weedy in some areas. After flowering, it produces flattened bean-like pods filled with seeds. If the conditions are favorable you can expect a lot of seedlings from fallen seed. However, in a place like Los Angeles, this tree seems to be kept in check. Discovering this tree the other day on my walk through the cityscape of Silver Lake was like stumbling into an oasis in paradise. Weed or wonder, the beautiful benefits of this tree are certainly worth experiencing.