Ornamental Hops* Vine - Today's Flowers

*Hops - from the Anglo-Saxon "hoppen" meaning "to climb"

The hops plant has an impressive history and can be traced all the way back to Pliny the Elder (AD23-AD79), who makes reference to it in his Naturalis Historia.

Papery female flowers (bracts)

The stems have scratchy, little spines, and care must be taken in handling them as they can cause a skin irritation. Otherwise, it is a very nice cold hardy, perennial plant that has grown in my garden for many years.

To view more wonderful pictures be sure to visit Luiz at Today's Flowers.

Wildflowers

These are some flowering plants I saw while on a recent camping holiday in a semi-arid region of British Columbia.

I came across this little Aster flower when I walked a section of the historic Cariboo Wagon Road. Built between 1862 and 1865, stage coaches and freight wagons rumbled along the cliffs of the canyon, linking the Cariboo gold fields to Vancouver.

Growing to one side of the path in gravelly soil, these cheerful flowers leaned out on a soft, fuzzy stem. Another characteristic: the yellow disc flowers gradually turn purple as seen in the photo.

This plant, known as Curly-cup Gumweed Grindelia squarrosa was found in another spot, close to the main highway. Other common names are Resinweed and Tarweed. The green backward curled bracts produce a sticky substance, and its roots can go down six feet, making the plant very drought resistant.

Pansy

The Pansies grew in an oak half barrel this summer
together with Dusty Miller and Ageratum.