This story happened a long time ago. The tired traveler walked through the rare forest in search of a haven where he could rest and spend the night. Climbing a low hill, he noticed a gap in the trees and headed there, leaning on a heavy stick. It was getting dark. The sky was colored with sunset blush, and the air breathed cool. The traveler finally reached the edge of the forest, parted the branches of a dense bush with his hands, and froze … A large overgrown clearing opened up to his admiring gaze.
– This is the “flame” – φλόξ! The man exclaimed in Greek. He looked at the bright pink low flowers, shimmering with fiery hues in the rays of the setting sun. The whole land was carefully covered with a soft floral carpet …
The next morning our traveler began to explore his unexpected treasure, muttering to himself:
– Well, well, Karl, you found a creeping plant unknown to science and even managed to accidentally give it a name – phlox. This is commendable, of course, but let’s take a soil sample and some flowers to study. In addition, my wife loves to plant unusual vegetation in the garden and she definitely needs to present this little gift. So, let’s see what we have here ?! The inflorescences are very small, about an inch in diameter will be. The shades of the petals are very different: white, pink, blue, purple and purple.
Phlox subulate ‘Amazing Grace’
Phlox subulate ‘Purple Beauty’
Phlox subulate “Emerald Blue”
Narrow leaves with pointed tips look like an awl. The soil is loose and dry, and the root system of the plant is shallow, which means that the flower does not like severe drought and moist soil …
Phlox subulate “Thumbelina”
Phlox subulate ‘Candy Stripe’
Talking quietly to himself, the traveler dug a small layer of earth covered with delicate flowers from the edge of the clearing, carefully put it in a knapsack and hurried on his way back …
Phlox-shaped
This is where our story about the discovery of phlox is interrupted.
And now, magically fast forward through the centuries and see how this amazing flower is used in modern landscape gardening.
Designers all over the world love to include this plant in their flower arrangements due to the fact that phlox is subulate unpretentious and can grow quickly on rocky or sandy soil.
What they just do not decorate with these babies:
- flower beds and mixborders;
- borders and ridges along garden paths;
- alpine slides and rockeries;
- “Flower” streams and sculptures.
Despite the fact that phlox bloom violently in late spring, it is quite possible that they bloom again in August. But even after their wilting, these amazing “moss carnations” look very decorative, thanks to the thin emerald green leaves that persist right up to the snow.
From the author of the article: the story of the Traveler is completely fictional and is dedicated to the Swedish biologist, physician and naturalist Karl Linnaeus, who gave the name to the flower in 1737. But about the use in landscape design of the hero of my story – subulate phlox, I spoke the truth and only the truth!
