Z is for Zygocactus

This is my post for the letter Z in the Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge.  My theme is plants.

I mentioned this project to a friend, who said, “Z will be difficult.”  I had already discovered that some of my indoor plants begin with Z.  These are the Christmas cacti.  As I have two different types, I decided to look them up on Wikipedia.  I learned that all the plants formerly known as zygocactus have been swallowed up in the genus Schlumbergera.

Christmas cactus

I am not going to change my mind and look for a zinnia to help me out here.

There are very short posts on Sue’s Trifles for the A to Z in April Challenge.

 

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Y is for Yucca

This is my post for the letter Y in the Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge.  My theme is plants.

None of the gardens belonging to places I have lived have boasted a yucca.  A neighbour in the next street had one in her front garden, when I was a child.  Being determined to have a photo of a yucca for my Y post, I was being vigilant as I travelled around, waiting for the flowering season of this unusual plant.

There is one in a garden on the edge of the next town, but no opportunity to snap it.

The plants here in Northern England mostly flower later than farther south as was the case with my L post.

I was about to go to Kent and was hopeful that my quest for a photo would be successful there.

On arrival in Kent Mum and I went to look around the grounds and I found a yucca.  It was in flower, but past its best.  I took a photo while the weather was fine and before all the flowers fell off.

Yucca at Burrswood

Later that week we visited some gardens nearby and there were some wonderful examples of yuccas.

Yucca at Groombridge Place

On my return I told a few people about my quest and the outcome.  Some were unaware that these plants flower.  Others had difficulty with my accent.  I prefer the northern U sound to ŭ.  (My yucca rhymes with a southerner’s “book a”, whereas a southern accent sounds like “buck a”.)

How do you pronounce Yucca?

There are very short posts on Sue’s Trifles for the A to Z in April Challenge.

X is for Unknown

This is my post for the letter X in the Blogging from A to Z in April Challenge.  My theme is plants.

There are flowers beginning with X, but I decided to have a bit of fun with this post.

When I began collecting my photos together for this challenge, I had two species in the garden, to which I could not put a name.

Plant with a name I could not remember

One I had known once, but could not find in The  Dictionary of Garden Plants in Colour.  I had even asked the followers of one of my blogs for help in identifying it.  The other was given to me by a friend, who could not provide a name for it.  It is not growing in a good position, but bravely produces one small flower each year.

Plant given me by a friend

My two unknowns should perhaps be x and y, but I have a good example for Y and a story to tell about it.

I had the opportunity to look through The Readers Digest encyclopedia of garden plants and flowers, where I found both my unknowns.  They are Lithospermum diffusum (Heavenly Blue) and Sisyrinchium brachyphus.

No wonder I had forgotten the one I had once known. I posted another unknown for my theme reveal post. Perhaps the comment thread has provided an answer.

There are very short posts on Sue’s Trifles for the A to Z in April Challenge.