which is one of my sentimental pleasures in the garden. It's so quaintly old-fashioned in it's demure beauty. When I first had a home with a garden that I could plant stuff in, I went to the nursery and bought annuals. I'd never heard of it but the nemesia looked pretty so I bought some. They were to become my favorite.
Each winter, when Maria asks for the summer seedling order there is one standing order : nemesia. And this is why. Look at the variety of color and markings in just these few plants.
They bloom for ages and reseed themselves over the summer. Usually, there are two crops which can bloom well into the fall, if I'm careful with the dead-heading. And, they are so bright that they can make a spark in the smallest corner.
They are such tiny flowers - that's my fingers behind the blossom. The woody-looking lines are my skin markings in macro. Cool, huh?
I looked up the origins because I was interested in where the name came from: reminded me of 'nemesis' but actually has nothing do with it. The plant comes from South Africa where it grows wild and the flowers are usually pale mauve. It's even got some drama going on. Apparently, it's in the process of being shifted from one genus to another. Definitely falling out of its established category must be traumatic.
And they have such happy little faces, don't they?
I just love Nemesia too. It's just the cheeriest flower.
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