FFF19 - A COMMON "WEED"

Common chicory, Cichorium intybus, is a somewhat woody, perennial herbaceous plant usually with bright blue flowers, rarely white or pink. Various varieties are cultivated for salad leaves, chicons (blanched buds), or for roots (var. sativum), which are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute and additive. It is also grown as a forage crop for livestock. It lives as a wild plant on roadsides in its native Europe, and in North America and Australia, where it has become naturalised. "Chicory" is also the common name in the United States for curly endive (Cichorium endivia); these two closely related species are often confused.

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FFF6 - GERANIUM JOHNSON'S BLUE

Geranium 'Johnson's Blue' was the first of the brilliant blue geraniums to catch gardeners' eyes. The Royal Horticultural Society gave it the Award of Garden Merit (AGM). The blue of its flowers is hard to photograph and is always more startling when you actually see the plant. The flower stalks can grow quite tall and will droop under the weight of the blossoms. Most gardeners don't bother to stake them, since it is still an attractive plant, even with its floppy habit. The flowers should be cut back after the first bloom, to get sporadic repeat blooms. Often the whole plant can begin to look scraggly and a good shearing is needed to totally rejuvenate it. 'Johnson's Blue' geranium is drought tolerant. It blooms best in full sun, but appreciates some afternoon shade in hot, dry areas. It's very disease resistant and a magnet for bees and butterflies.


Please join me for Flora Friday Fotos by linking your flower photos below.

View From Sunset Beach - Oregon Coast

Watchful Gulls

More of that beautiful blue water. Looking at the shadows of the gulls you can tell just about the time of day this photo was taken.

Washed Ashore

I loved the look of this dead tree that washed ashore as driftwood. And it makes me wonder how a whole tree with the trunk and branches and roots still attached could wash up on shore.

I mentioned before that the water at the coast last weekend was a brillient
blue. There is no editing to the color of the water here.

Oregon Shores

Saturday at the coast the skies and the water were mostly grey but Sunday with just a little sun the water was a brillient blue. I loved both the greys and the blues but Sunday made better photos.

Blue

I love the color of the water here. It amazes me how the ocean can be so many different colors at different times.

Misty Blue

Near Florence Oregon