I said I would post an update on the mimulas, so I took these photos this afternoon (a very overcast, grey day!)
I seem to have far fewer yellow flowers than I did last year. They are so pretty - the yellow ones - beautifully speckled.
I have actually added a new category just for mimulas as there have been so many searches for them.
Last summer, I wrote a post about the mimulas that I'd planted as annuals. On checking the stats on my stat counter, I see that many people are searching for information on Mimulas, and are ending up at the post I wrote last May. Well...I'm really no expert on Mimulas (as that post will show). In fact, I knew very little about them last year. I think I know a little bit more this year. (I'm sure there must be some-one out there who has a great deal of knowledge on these plants).
Last spring, I bought a few small seedlings (about 12 I think) from our local nursery. I bought them as annuals - which I was sure they were. The folk who worked at the nursery didn't seem to know much about them ! I searched and searched for information on growing them - there isn't much ! I had a wild variety of Mimulas growing in my garden in Africa. I never paid any attention to them at all - they did their own thing. And of course, because of the tropical climate I lived in, they never died down or faded away.
Anyway - back to the Mims I'm growing now.
They were really lovely last year. I planted them in full sun, about 6inches apart, and treated them the way I did the other annuals. They grew to about 12" in height, and flowered all the way through the summer. In fact, they were very prolific. I deadheaded them regularly. Looking back, I could have planted them even further apart - they are really bushy plants.
Here's a photo from last summer. This photo shows the size of the plants that I originally planted.
And here they are later in the summer.
As winter was closing in, and all the annuals were on their last legs, the mimulas died down too. As I said, I thought they were annuals. They disappeared completely. I covered all my little beds with a good 3inches of bark chips over the winter.
Imagine my surprise, when the weather started warming up, and the Mims appeared. They have travelled too ! It looks like they've sent out runners, or shoots underground. I'll dig a few up gently, and have a look. They've come up thick and bushy again.
Here you can see what they looked like last month - they're on the left of the square (almost in the centre of the photo).
And here's a photo I took last week - they're ready to burst into flower.
And I took this photo yesterday.
There you have it ! I will be treating them as perennials from now on - and giving them a few good feeds over the summer.
Very rewarding plants - the speckled flowers are unusual, and everyone who saw them commented on them. If you can get your hands on some - do grow them.
I hope this post helped those of you are looking for info on growing them. You can always leave a comment if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer.
Michelle, of All Things Michelle, saw a photo of my mimulas on this blog the other day, and asked about them. They are really pretty aren't they ? Their common name is Musk or Monkey Flower. It's the first time I've grown them here in the UK. In Africa where I lived I had a wild variety in my garden. There is a page here on Wikipedia about the different varieties. They grow to about 12inches in height. Mine are growing in morning shade/afternoon sun.
I hope someone who knows more about them will let us know. If you are a blogging gardener who grows them, please give us more information.
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