The screwy weather of 2017 has some of TPP's plants confused. June was quite hot, July & August were cooler and wetter, September started cool but then got hot and very dry. And as Fall continued and the days shortened, the weather got cooler and rains finally relieved the drought. But no cold weather even into early October (except for the last 24 hrs). so some plants are a bit confused about what time of year it is. Today's sunflower, or more usually a rock rose, an ornamental variety generally placed in the species Helianthemum nummularium, a member of the Cistaceae. The genus means sun flower, but so does Helianthus. Members of this family, and this genus, and this species are pretty common ornamentals of the Mediterranean region, but most of them are not hardy here in zone 5. It's a small, low, evergreen shrub that makes a nice border and ground cover. After looking sort of rough most of the early summer and not flowering then (perhaps recovering from winter), one of two plants decided to flower now! Pretty bright flower, but not a big display. Nice in a protected area.
Busy weekend has put TPP behind.
