Five things to do in the garden this week:
Fruit. Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius) is a cold-hardy member of the daisy family whose flower clusters consist of multiple florets, each of which produces an achene or tiny dry fruit that contains a single seed, from which safflower oil is extracted. Achenes are also seen on a strawberry, which is not technically a fruit but an enlarged flower receptacle. The fruits on a strawberry are also achenes, appearing as tiny, dry brown or white specks on the skin, each of which contains a single seed. Safflower is an attractive annual, growing to three feet tall. Its thistle-like silvery foliage complements one-inch inflorescences that contain as many as 180 tightly packed florets that transition from yellow to orange to red. Its long stems and everlasting flowers are suitable for dry flower arrangements, too.
Vegetable. In Southern California, October is the most propitious month of the year for planting most vegetables, those whose edible portion is leaves (lettuces and cabbages), roots (radishes, carrots, beets), bulbs (onions, garlic), tubers (potatoes), pods (peas, fava beans), flowers (cauliflower and broccoli) or buds (Brussels sprouts and artichokes). Artichoke is a daisy family member that can live for many years, yielding basal leaves that, with roots attached, can be removed from the mother plant for propagation purposes. You will need to keep your artichoke well irrigated in the summer to increase its lifespan and productivity. Its gigantic, deeply cut, silvery green leaves are an ornamental bonus.
Herb. Some herbalists consider yarrow (Achillea spp.), a stalwart member of the daisy family, to be the most medicinal plant in the world, with curative properties that extend to every organ of the body. Those who know how to prepare and utilize its infusions, decoctions, and teas, swear by yarrow for treatment of headaches, flu, stomach disorders and a host of other ailments. Yarrow’s botanical name, Achillea, is linked to Achilles, the war hero of Greek mythology whose soldiers supposedly used it for staunching battlefield wounds. Yarrow’s habitat stretches across the northern reaches of Europe, Asia, and North America, including extremely cold regions where winter temperatures regularly reach 20 degrees below zero. Its flat-topped inflorescences are easily recognized as well as the gently toothed margins of its leaves.
Flowers. Coneflower or Echinacea, another daisy family selection, has vaunted medicinal properties that could easily classify it as an herb, yet its value as a perennial, albeit one that will probably not live for more than three years in our climate, is often overlooked. Coneflowers, with their distinctive pincushion flowers — available in pink, white, yellow, orange, red, and purple — do best in full sun although they accept some shade and are not bothered by freezing weather. Coneflower maintains its sturdiness when cut, holding its own in vase arrangements for more than a week. It has a clumping growth habit and will spread slowly from year to year. Coneflowers attract birds, bees, and butterflies and will self-sow. They prefer a fast-draining sandy loam soil but can also find their way in clay
If silver-leaved plants are your thing, you may as well resign yourself to the fact that virtually all of them belong to the daisy family. Three genera — Senecio, Centaurea, and Artemisia — are responsible for dozens of species with lobed to lacy silver leaves. One of the most famous is wormwood (Artemisa absinthium), from which absinthe, the intoxicating drink purported to cure worms or stomach ailments, was made. Dusty millers are the other well-known daisy plants with silvery-gray leaves, given their name by the dusty appearance of those working as millers of flour. While these plants do produce flowers, they are typically nondescript. However, Centaurea gymnocarpa has a distinctive identity among the dusty millers, growing to a height of three feet with nearly white foliage and large purple inflorescences.