100 Species Challenge

1. Strawberry
2. Black-eyed Susan
3. Rose of Sharon, Althea
4. Potentilla

5. Vinca
We like to use annual vinca for border planting. I always get white, because I think white flowers make such a nice, visible border for the walks.




Sometimes I do get another color for pots, though.






The foliage is a nice glossy dark green. The entire plant gets bushy on its own, without any pinching back. And, best of all, the deer don’t eat it! Truly a carefree plant -- just pop it in the ground in spring, and make sure it gets some water now and then .

There’s a perennial named Vinca which is a totally different plant. The annual vinca I’m showing here is actually Catharanthus roseus. Here is a nice summary of annual vinca.

And, what new thing did I learn about vinca while composing this entry? I learned that it's a bit fussy to propagate from seeds. I'm sort of surprised, considering we've had it come up volunteer some years. But, of course, in that situation it was just a fun surprise to see it popping up in the spring.

More information about the 100 Species Challenge here, and a link to all my 100 Species entries in the sidebar.