A closeup picture of Woolly Blue Curls, Trichostema lanatum, focused on the flowers. The flowers are borne upon a flower spike of pale green with reddish green streaks. The flowers themselves are supported and partially obscured by short and wide calyces covered in cottony trichomes (plant hairs) that give them a woolly appearance. The flowers themselves are composed of a very short corolla that comes out of the calyces and split into two short upper lips and 4 longer lower lips of a soft deep violet. The leaves, interspersed with the flowers and denser further down, are needle-like with smooth edges and mint-green in color. The texture of the leaves is slightly rumpled, but can vary. As with all mints, the stem is somewhat square and the leaves grow opposite and perpendicular in pairs. The background is very blurry and unfocused, but clearly there is more T. lanatum in the background, with a backdrop of grey-green provided by a more mature Lavandula angustifolia.

I'm not really sure where to start with this one. When I started into gardening, Woolly Blue Curls were obscure outside of native plant enthusiasts. It's had a weird fifteen years, though. Let's talk 🧵

#photography #bloomscrolling #flowers #garden #mint #trichostema #lanatum #xeriscaping #herbs