It
was the 18th Century Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus who first
planned a flower bed with blooms that would open at different times
of the day. A floral clock planted according to his principals is
still flourishing at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, where
Linnaeus was a professor.
If
you have a floral clock flower bed in your garden, you can tell
the time of day by the flowers that have opened and closed. The
classical way to plant the clock is in a round flower bed, with
the position of the flowers corresponding to the time on a real
clock.
You
need a spot that gets full sun for most of the day. The flowers
to use are called Equinoctials, which have specific times of the
day for opening and closing.
Here
is a list of suitable plants and the times they signify when they
open and close.
5am:
morning glory, wild rose.
6am: flax.
7am: dandelion, African marigold.
8am: day lily, scarlet pimpernel, African daisies.
9am: English marigold, portulacca, chickweed.
10am: Purslane, Veronique, cinquefoil, Californian poppy.
11am: Purple thistle, Star of Bethlehem.
12 noon: flax, chicory, morning glory close, convovulus opens.
1pm: chiding pink closes.
2pm: scarlet pimpernel closes.
3pm: marigold closes.
4pm: Californian poppy closes.
5 pm: white waterlily closes.
6pm: evening primrose opens.
7pm: yellow cestrum closes.
8pm: dandelions, daylilies close.
You
can continue the clock into the night with night blooming plants
such as cereus, which opens at midnight.
If
you don't want to build a big display, just choose some of the day
flowers and make a simple display of them in a smaller bed, set
to open and close at significant times of the day, such as when
you have breakfast or tea in the garden.
Don't
set your life by it - a floral clock is meant to bring you closer
to the rhythms of nature. It will teach you to be more aware and
observant of the way things happen in your garden, and give you
a feeling of welcome when plants open to greet you, and a feeling
of pleasant winding down when they close up for the day.
