From a posting of four years ago [with added asides]:
This year, recalling how drought tolerant they were, I planted two planters with California
poppy seeds. The first bloom appeared, Thursday. Here 'tis (to the right).
My Grandmother H [Mary Etta Hall who always signed "M.E. Hall"]* always had a bed of rose moss [Portulaca grandiflora]. For some reason, I didn't think it [could be grown here] until, two or three years ago, I planted a couple of planters with rose moss seed. They not only reseeded within the planters, but have come up as volunteers across the double driveway from the planters and in our strawberry & cherry bed (strawberries fill 1/2 of the bed while a cherry tree and some cherry bushes fill the other 1/2.). This (to the left) is a photo of a golden one--nearly the color of the California poppies--that grows in the edge of the cherry bed, overhanging the apron to the garage.
From today, more photos of volunteer rose moss plant blossoms:
Rose moss, as you can tell by looking at the leaves and stems, is a succulent - a distant relative to the ice plant (below).
*Because Xtreme English signs herself as "M.E." at times, she and I have traded private communications on this. I always think of my grandmother when I see XE's comments.
I planted moss rose a couple of times in the early days of starting gardens here (early '90s). I thought it would do great amongst the rock walls. I was wrong - don't know if it was too wet, the soil or the temperatures, but they never came back - so sad.
Poppies do come back every year (they are perennials), but when they open, their heads droop so you never get the full effect of the flower.
Posted by: bogie | July 22, 2012 at 04:14 AM
What a shame that you didn't get rose moss to succeed, Bogie. Rose moss does like sun, I think.
As to poppies: yes, some are perennials (if the climate is right), but some are annuals. Don't ask me which because I always get confused. I do like the color of the California poppies and decided to try them some years ago because of the masses of color that I had seen while working in California. Obviously, at least where I've had them, the California poppies don't droop as the larger, floppier poppies do - probably because they don't grow that tall (perhaps a foot tall) and the blossoms are much smaller (therefore the petals are stiffer).
BTW: Of course, WIWAK, Grma H's (old) house had a sink in the kitchen with a pump to the rainwater cistern. There was a pump on the back porch (crank/chain style) that fed from a well (and another at the stock watering tank, with a windmill) that provided water to the wash house. From the kitchen, Edwin would carry a basin of (what we would now call gray) water out to water the plants near the house - including the rose moss. As I recall, the rose moss were the only flowering plants near the house. There were always zinnias and marigolds in the vegetable garden.
Posted by: Cop Car | July 22, 2012 at 08:44 AM
So lovely. I remember these flowers from my California days. They provide wonderful colors in dry places.
Posted by: Hattie | July 23, 2012 at 03:02 PM
Somehow I deleted the first part of the sentence in comment - it was supposed to read: "I have oriental poppies, and they do come back every year. . . "
Posted by: bogie | July 24, 2012 at 02:59 AM
Hattie--That they do.
Bogie--See? You can keep them straight! *smiling* I wish that I could!
Posted by: Cop Car | July 30, 2012 at 07:18 AM
Just noticed the mention of family member - Hall - prominent name in my family.
Posted by: Joared | August 02, 2012 at 04:12 AM
Joared--I believe that you and I concluded a few years ago that we are likely related to some remote degree (the good parts of us-lol). I'll send you the URL to my public family tree if you care to look for a connection. My email address is under the photo at the top of the left-hand sidebar.
Posted by: Cop Car | August 02, 2012 at 07:37 AM
When we lived in ND, I always planted moss roses (is that the same as "rose moss"?) they look like it. anyway, they don't seem to grow around here in the mid-Atlantic/South/whatever...not dry enough??
Posted by: M.E. | August 05, 2012 at 01:38 PM
ME--I've always believed that a "moss rose" plant is the same as a "rose moss" plant; but, not being positive that such is the case is why I threw in the "Portulaca grandiflora" for positive ID.
Posted by: Cop Car | August 06, 2012 at 07:03 AM