African Spoon Daisy

I'm all about the Osteospermum :)

African daisies seem to love my back porch garden. Full sun, and crummy soil. It's hard to find pretty plants that tolerate these conditions. They do better in rich soil however, so maybe they'll flourish even more this year after I amend the brick that masquerades as my back garden....

My favourite African daisy is this Osteospermum hybrid, colloquially (you can tell I've had my morning coffee when I start using fancy words) known as the spoon daisy. I took this photo of one in my garden two years ago.


I think I love them because they seem to reflect my personality. Bizarre, colourful and spiky, but with soft edges ;)

I discovered these beauties at Lowe's garden center about 3 years ago, and I've gotten them every year since. If I lived just a little more to the south, I'm sure they would last all winter. But the late frosts in January and February seem to do them in at the last minute. *cue funeral march*

However, they're not too expensive so I don't mind re-buying them every year. They're very low-maintenence plants. You don't have to deadhead them to keep them reblooming. In my area, the flowering tapers off drasically in our sweltering summers, but comes back in the fall for a show :) The foliage is very nice, and they stay low to the ground to show off what you have in the back of your garden.

I highly recommend this plant if you can get your hands on one :)