I have always been intrigued by passion flowers, Passiflora, since I first noticed them as a teenager growing in a neighbours garden. I have always loved how exotic and unusual they look compared to traditional climbers, that you see clambering up garden walls and trellis around the country.
It is only in the past few weeks though, after a visit to the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, that I really started to look at the flowers in more detail. They really are quiet spectacular, when you really get up close and examine the pattern on the petals and the overall structure of the flower heads, it can be mesmerising .
I had been going through a phase where flowers began to look the same and were not sparking the delight of my inner plant junkie anymore! I am glad to say though, since I took the time to really look at a passion flower, that I have been given a new lease of life and have started to appreciate every flower I see that bit more.
One thing that really struck me when I visited the Royal Hospital was the fact passion flowers produce seed pods. I had never seen them before on a plant and was rather shocked by the sheer size of them!
My Name is David Corscadden and I have just finished my degree in horticulture from UCD. I have a keen interest in wildlife friendly gardens or as I like to call them “Wild Gardens”. I have in the last year taken a u-turn in what I thought I would do after college. I have moved more in to the literature side of horticulture and plan to do a masters in journalism next year.
Source: Beyond The Wild Garden – A Passionate Discovery – David Corscadden
