h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

They remind me of passion flowers. Does the plant die after blossoming then? That is sad.

They are also known as Hens and Chicks around here. Popular along the front of people's lawns.

Yes, that "only blooms once, then dies" meme is a bit dramatic. It only means that this is an annual species. Most farm crops that feed us are annuals. We just plant the seeds from last year's crop, and away we go! Many flowers are annuals as well, including this. Petunias are annuals when they are grown where the weather gets cold enough.

But thanks for the photo.

Maybe in America. My apologies for the drama, rare thing here.

I applaud people who have the good sense to plant mostly perennials.

In this country, the garden shops and landscapers have got everybody trained to buy pots of annuals - usually forcefed something called 'Miracle Gro' and overblossomed to within an inch of their lives. They replace the potted plants every season - possibly even every month - with another they bought for 15 bucks at Walmart.

It was really bad in North Carolina, home of the greatest number of landscaping courses in community colleges. (They supply all the golf courses with landscapers.)

But this annual of yours? It's lovely! Thanks for letting us appreciate it virtually.

I second that there are a lot of hen and chick plants about in containers, but I have never seen flowers on any of these.

"In this country, the garden shops and landscapers have got everybody trained to buy pots of annuals - usually forcefed something called 'Miracle Gro' and overblossomed to within an inch of their lives."
[Dmitri]

I hate Miraclegro, though it's mostly because Monsanto makes it. Do I have a grudge against Monsanto? Maybe.

I like to be among the first to buy pots of plants when they become available. That way, I can choose the best ones. You can tell just by looking that some plants are not gonna thrive. Just sayin'.