Thursday, January 22, 2009

Desert Island Plant Challenge

Shirl of Shirl’s Gardenwatch has proposed a challenge for us. If you were on a desert island and you could take three plants what would they be? Food plants are already available.

My first choice is Black Eye Susan because they remind me of my childhood. They grow wild where I’m from and as a child I use to pinch the flower heads off and drop the from an old wooden bridge into the creek. They would spin as they fell like little helicopters.

Wild Blackeye Susan


My second choice is Orange Jasmine. I love the scent and could smell it for hours on end. I’m afraid we may have lost this one to the cold this winter.

Jamine Tree Bloom


Last but not least , I would take my grandmother’s rose. It has survived for generations and every time I see it I think of her. As children we would chase each other around her house and I always managed to snag my arm on this rose. Funny that I should have such fond memories of something that has caused me to shed so much blood.

GrandmaRose

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Randy, what excellent choices. It is so interesting to see what others would take with them and why. The orange jasmine is an inspired choice, I have never heard of it before, hope your winters over after this extra cold weather we also have been experiencing. I think we will have losses as well. Let us imagine ourselves on the island with out beloved plants. :-)
Frances

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Good choices Randy. Color and scent. One doesn't want to be without either.

Unknown said...

These are great choices, Randy. I love the heritage rose, of course, and the thought of the Orange Jasmine just got me all eager...can't grow it here but I can smell yours from here, I'm quite sure!

Randy said...

Frances,
The scent of Orange Jasmine- Murraya paniculata is absolutely intoxicating. We were pushing it on the zones when we bought it. It's a beautiful standard, but I'm no seeing ANY signs of life.

Lisa,
I couldnt's agree more!

Jodi,
You just about could. It as fragrant or even more fragrant than tea olive. It stays in continous blooms too. I really hope ours isn't expired. :-(--Randy

Lisa at Greenbow said...

OOps, sorry Jamie. I thought Randy did this post. I just realized that you did it when I looked at Shirls linky.

Daphne Gould said...

I picked jasmine too. I don't know them well enough to pick which kind. They don't grow where I live, so only see them when traveling. The orange jasmine look beautiful.

Unknown said...

Beautiful choices with good memories with them.

Gail said...

Yeah for The Susans! They are my choice, too! I do love your other two choices as well! How wonderful to have a rose from your grandmother~~I treasure the afghans my grandmother made, she wasn't a gardner...but she crafted beautifully. Have a good day! Is it warming up there? gail

Anonymous said...

Great choices and lots of fragrance too. The island is going to look beautiful, see you there!

F Cameron said...

Wonderful choices! I will have to look up the orange jasmine as I don't know that one.

Your grandmother's rose is so beautiful and precious.

Cameron

Phillip Oliver said...

I am heartbroken to hear that the jasmine standard might be dead. I hope not!

Anonymous said...

Oh orange jasmine, how lovely (But I hope yours is OK). The island will be beautiful with your choices.
K

Randy said...

You got it right Lisa, It was me, me being Randy.

Daphne,
I wish I could describe the scent to you its wonderful!

Darla,
The very best memories ;-)

Gail,
I have a quilt my grandmother made me for my 18th birthday. It’s the most beautiful thing you have ever seen. She made it from old clothes she had and when I look at it I can remember seeing her in a lot of them.

Easygardener,
Welcome! I’m so happy you paid us a visit! Come back to see us, now!

Cameron,
Thanks for the compliments. You should see the rose up close, there is no way to properly describe the color.

Phillip,
You and me both!

Karen,
I’m so happy to have you here! What an amazing post you did! I’ll have to catch up on my reading a little later.

My Mother's Garden said...

Hi Randy~
Great choices! I can smell the orange jasmine as I type.

Karrita

Anonymous said...

A bit of home and a lot of fragrance are both important on a desert island. Great choices.

Chandramouli S said...

I'm sure your Susan would compete with desert sun. May be sun would calm down after seeing someone as beautiful as him. Fragrance has always attracted the gardeners so that was an awesome choice and you definitely need to carry your family's possessions. Beauty, Fragrance, and Family - Perfect choice!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Randy .. I am trying to catchup here : )
I love the mental picture of the flowers spinning away on the water .. Jasmine, I can not grow it here and I always wondered if it would survive as a houseplant.
A rose with an emotional attachment is a wonderful plant to hold in your memory. That one is beautiful .. the colour so delicate.
We all need our "comfort" plants with us don't we ?
Joy
P.S. Lemon verbena has the most amazing scent .. it makes me think of lemon drop candies every time I smell it : )

Anonymous said...

I didn't even think to pick something fragrant Randy! Your grandmother's rose was a nice addition to the collection. :) Your island is going to smell yummy.

Jan said...

Hi Jamie & Randy,
The Susan's are always winners...I've never had any that failed to bloom:) More often, I've had to dig them out when they get to big for the garden area;)
Now as for jasmine, that will be heaven on this desert island. I really do hope they will survive;(

The idea of the rose and your memories of your grandmother is touching; I have similar garden memories. It's very special to have it in your garden--even though it was the cause of much bloodshed:(

See ya at the Island. We can all sit under the willow tree and smell the jasmine, and other lovely scented flowers, just think how much fun it will be. Ahh, do you have plane tickets yet??!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Randy, your choices were great. It is so interesting to see what so many gardeners have chosen. I know it was hard to pick just three.

Jan
Always Growing

Randy said...

Karrita,
Your gardens are just wonderful! I paid a visit earlier today. I’m getting so far behind on my reading. :-(

Layanee,
You had some pretty great choices yourself!

Chandramouli,
It is very nice to have something to remind me of my grandmother, most especially since she passed away.

Joy,
Are you feeling better yet? I hope so!

Racquel,
I wish I knew the name of that old rose.

Jan,
I hope you don’t mind if I sip a fruity beverage while we sit there. ;-)

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

You & your plants will be taking a sentimental journey to the island. It's fascinating to see what influences each gardener's choices. The Rose is beautiful, even if it is painful.

Unknown said...

Awe, they look so beautiful..
I have also written a humble article about Flowers Meanings in my blog...
Good Luck

Randy said...

MMD,
I'm so happy you paid us a visit! Sorry I'm just responding, but I've been out of town. Yesssss- What is life without sentiment? :-)
Have a good week!

Mustafa,
Welcome to our Eden, we absolutely love it when we get a new reader! I hope you enjoy your visits here. I hope you return again and again! :-)

joey said...

Wonderful choices ... I will follow the heavenly Orange Jasmine scent and hopefully meet you on the island (I'm in the woodland garden beneath the birch surrounded by ferns & scented lily-of-the-valley). Have been wanting to visit and joyfully found your delightful site peppered with beautiful photos.

Randy said...

Joey!
White Raspberry Trifle! OMG that sounds good! I don't mean to sound ignorant, but is almond bark and white chocolate the same thing? I'm so happy you came to visit. Stick around now.:-)--Randy

Anonymous said...

You are making heirloom plants. 100 years from now people will be searching for that rose and they won't be growing anywhere but on that Island. Future generations will make a killing.

I still haven't decided what I'm bringing. Are we getting close to leaving? Let me know when we are going to be stranded.

I vote we get stranded in Wales. I'm just watching that and it's fantastic. They have log cabins and everything. We could have indoor plumbing.