Sunday, May 11, 2008

The Prado Entrance

The entrance to the Prado has a new bed of summer flowers, on the north side. Last year I posted the central fountain of the Prado. This looks more like Spain then Florida.


The flower is periwinkle, not the northern blue Vinca, but Madagascar periwinkle, Vinca roseus. When I was young this flower grew all over the city. It seemed to be a pretty local weed. Now we have periwinkles on steroids. The color is much more vivid and the flower is bigger. But it is fragile and fungus often kills it. I gave up growing it. Now I will watch to see if the city can control the fungus.