Friday, April 27, 2007

Four O'Clock (Mirabilis jalapa)

On July 1767, former US President Thomas Jefferson observed: "Mirabilis just opened, very clever."

He was pertaining to those plants which, several posts down, were proven to respond well to liquid fertilizer of human origin. The fragrant flowers of Four O'Clock suppsedly open up at approximately that time. Mine bloom at night though. Like this!:



This is something that every beginner, slacker, or busy gardener's dreams are made of. I took the seeds both from a beach garden in Anilao, and from a Merville sidewalk. They looked like little black pepper balls. I stuffed said seeds in pots with compost and watered them everyday, and within a week, ambitious little squirts came up. Within a month or two, they were a-blooming. And they bloom magnificently, beautifully, and in a super fragrant way, like sampaguita or something. Really really good stuff here! Minimum effort and maximum sensory return. They re-sow themselves too.

This plant has domineering roots, and is thus considered by a few anal persons to be invasive. They would surely win the common my-taproot-is-bigger-than-yours contests. So keep that in mind, and also remember that the whole plant is toxic to humans. Jesus always knows if you are plotting to place the seeds in your frenemy's pepper mill!

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