floral friday: african daisy

I planted a few African Daisy plants in my front yard and after only a couple years, it feels like they have taken over–I’m not complaining!

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common name: African daisy

scientific name: Osteospermum ecklonis

Native to South Africa, these daisies have a whole lot of character compared to their common daisy counterparts (Gerbera, Shasta, etc). With a range of colors from pale purple to yellow and a plethora of blooms on each bush, African daisy bushes make quite an impression. Frost or extreme heat will cause the plant to take a break from blooming, but in moderate climates like mine, these flower bloom constantly making the colorful spectacle never-ending! While I love my African daisies, you should really check out these varieties, holy moly!

floral friday: lisianthus

In the new year, I am excited to shift toward sharing some cut flower specimens for the Floral Friday features. This first one is a brand new flower in IMPRESSED by nature’s upcoming Spring/Summer collection, so I had some sitting around waiting to be pressed!

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common name: lisianthus
scientific name: Eustoma grandiflora

Lisianthus are commonly used in weddings and can be mistaken for roses with their funnel-shaped flowers. Lisianthus buds are especially beautiful with the varying shades of color creating a spiral as the petals begin to open. Lisianthus in shades of white and pink are nice, but this shade of purple is just so perfect to me.
Many of my encounters with flowers end up with an experimental pressing. My initial thoughts about lisianthus were that they would likely turn out like a rose–solid color deepened after pressing. To my surprise, the effect was more similar to the way an iris dries–pigment drains from parts of the petal while remaining in tact in other parts. It creates a gorgeous watercolor effect that I find just mesmerizing.