Let's chat about Alstroemeria's.
Also known as Peruvian, Christmas, princess or parrot Lilly.
Some gardeners love them, and some dislike them with a vengeance.
Personally, I love them.
You just have to be very selective about where you plant them in the garden design.
You buy one to add to your full sun, good drainage aspect plantings, and the label says width - 60cm...
But here's the thing about the (especially the larger height varieties) is that they tend to expand year to year.
The alstroemeria in Mia Bella Passions Homestead garden of the past was proof of this!
I had two particularly rambunctious varieties in the borders. Those being the varieties psittacina , and Fougere.
Oh my gosh, what a battle it was to control them. A losing battle actually, as the expanding mass of the tubers literally took over the small spaces I had them planted in. In actual fact, the Fougere tubers uplifted the concrete edging!
I'm not kidding!
But I adore the flowers. Probably because I am a 'must have flowers' in the home decor kind of person.
Over the spring, summer and autumn seasons, they are long-lasting and beautiful in a vase, on their own or with other blooms.
There are so many varieties and colours available now.
Some dwarf-height varieties are included.
So now at the Lake garden, I have planted them. The tall varieties at the back of the borders, where I can easily use a spade to chop their naughty rampantness back into control at the end of flowering.
And some dwarf varieties.
But the one I want to tell you about today is a variety called 'Summer Breeze'.
Suggested for the back of borders and for long-stemmed picked flowers.
It's a unique cross between the original cut flower size and a dwarf variety.
The blooms are tall (75cm) strong stemmed that will last for up to four weeks in a vase.
The dark foliage is interesting with a subtle variation in a lime green, so it looks fabulous when it's not flowering.
The flowers are a strong yellow colour with darker red outside petals and classic alstroemeria markings.
They say on the plant label that it has a compact tidy habit with a width of 60cm.
Let's hope the notorious original Alstroemeria invasive spreading habit has been bred out!
Needless, I am playing it safe by planting in my raised brick garden the border with 'lots of space' so I can do spade control if necessary.
I'll update this post in a year to let you all know how we fare.
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