This week we welcome back the first blooms of an old and dear friend – the cup plant. Extolled many times on this blog over the years, this is one of my favorite plants. Whimsical, imposing, delicate, robust – it carries all kinds of connotations, and provides habitat and food for some of our favorite visitors (yellow finches).
Rising dramatically over eight feet in height, it is impressive of size and stature, yet its blooms are delicate and small. Its immensity means that it does best with a couple strong cords of rope tied around its midsection when it’s about four feet tall as these get so high that they bend (though rarely break) in rain and wind.
These are statement plants that will take up a lot of space – a boon to gardeners looking for impact and size – while their daisy-like flowers in the brightest gold rise well out of reach of smaller hands or rodents. A winning plant on all fronts, and one that comes into bloom just as the first flush of summer bloomers is fading. We are in that initial lull, which is somewhat of an unhappy reminder that summer moves quickly. Too quickly. Stop and examine the flowers.
