My Love-Lies-Bleeding

by Melody
(Starkville, MS, USA)

Not mine, but I like the idea of putting it by itself like that.

One of my favorite annuals is the flower called love-lies-bleeding. It sounds kind of like the title to a depressing Edgar Allan Poe poem, doesn't it? I don't think it has anything to do with the Christian Slater movie of the same name, either. But really, this is quite an interesting and beautiful flower.

It's also called a tassel-flower, and it can grow really anywhere you plant it, as long as it can get full sunlight, and it's pretty easy to take care of. It just needs water every day, and like most plants, it can't be over-watered or it will die.

It has a very bright red color that's eye-catching and goes really well with orange and yellow flowers. Since it also comes in pale pink, fuchsia, white, and purple, I usually plant at least one of each color, just to get the full variety. It usually blooms in the late summer or early fall, and it really makes a great addition to my annual garden.

I first came across this flower when I was surfing the web, looking for a few good flower ideas for my annual garden. At first, I didn't know what to make of it--it's a pretty unique-looking plant, and I wasn't sure if it would go with the rest of my flowers. And the name--Love-Lies-Bleeding--was kind of a morbid thing to name a flower, I thought. It kind of made it sound like my garden was a scene of a crime, or something. But I took a chance, and now it's one of my favorite flowers.

Loves-Lies-Bleeding on eBay