Kia hora te manno
Kia whakapapa paumamu te moana
Kia tere te Karohirohi

May the calm be widespread
May the sea glisten like the greenstone
And may the glimmer of summer dance across your pathways

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

What are these?

Last week MrC and I were in Valencia CA for a few days, and planted around the entrance of the Hotel we stayed at, were these lovely flowers.



I have not come across these before and am wondering what they are.

9 comments:

Dee/reddirtramblings said...

They are Pentas lanceolata. They are tropical plants grown as annuals in colder areas. They are also drought tolerant, butterfly magnets. There is even a Penta with variegated leaves.~~Dee

RURAL said...

We used to sell Penta's during mid summer at the garden centre. They were a very drought tolerant plant, and loved the heat. When all else failed, or drooped, they perked up.

Jen

Meredith/Great Stems said...

I don't plant many annuals here in Texas -- my budget generally goes to perennials and trees. But I did plant a few pentas in the spring, and next year I'll probably plant even more to fill in the gaps in my garden. They really attract the butterflies.

tina said...

I was going to say they look like pentas but Dee beat me to it. Butterflies love them.

Lona said...

I just love the looks of the pentas and knew butterflies like them so I tried growing some from seed. My plant ratio from seeds is very bad so I did not get one seed to grow. Think I will try again though or just try to buy some already started next spring.

Randy Emmitt said...

Jennifer,
Here in Durham, NC I've not had a good luck growing pentas. They need lots of water and the butterflies don't like them, unlike ones I have seen in FL. Meg planted a few this year, yuck they look like, $%^%#$

Corner Gardener Sue said...

I knew you'd have your answer already. I enjoy growing pentas. Those are quite pretty!

Kathleen said...

Hi KeeWee. I see you already have your answer. I first saw pentas at Longwood Gardens (in Pennsylvania) and have tried and tried to grow them ever since. I don't know what I do wrong but they never get as tall as they should or as full. I still love them anyway ~ that pink color is my favorite.

Peggy said...

A rose by any other name...I have never seen these flowers or even heard of them here but they look absolutely gorgeous!I would love to wander around your garden centre it looks a place to entice you in and keep you there.