‘Dwarf Globe’—A plump-shaped plant with flowers of various colors.
nana compacta—Not six inches high and a constant bloomer with large radiant flowers.
‘Twinkle’—Various colors with fluted, fringed petals.
Portulaca
Seemingly this is an insignificant little plant, though I don’t know how one so charming could be classified as such. I had never raised it until the editor of one of my favorite magazines asked me to make some photographs of it. Of course, I had to grow it first. I planted a bed and waited for results. They were not long in coming. Plants barely out of the ground started blooming a few days later, and started spreading about the same time. The blooms, when single, were cup-shaped; the doubles looked like roses. The plants had a sunny exposure, a sandy soil, not much nutriment, and an inordinate attraction for our dogs (like catnip for cats). One day I took a photograph of my husband’s Labrador-retriever pup looking over a short picket fence at my portulaca. I promptly put in a higher fence, but the puppy grew faster than the fence. Eventually, I got my photographs, but it was a dog-gone struggle. If you do not have dogs, or if your dogs are not portulaca-minded, I offer you a listing of a few varieties.
‘Alba’—Pure white.
‘Aurea’—Lovely yellow.
‘Coccinea’—Scarlet.
‘Red Foundling’—A little larger than some of the others, but semidouble, carmine-red, and most lovely.
‘Rosea’—Rose.