For this months Garden Bloggers Bloom day I a very tiny bloom to share! When I went outside last week to cover up some of our porch plants, preparing for a night of below freezing temperatures, I noticed the tiny little ground cover in one of my containers had tiny little white flowers. This arrangement I call the 3 Amigas because it has 3 beautiful reddish Euphorbia trigona F. rubra! The little blooming plants are called String of Pearls or String of beads, Senecio rowleyanus.This plant with its tiny little balls has always been a favorite of mine. I remember them as a popular plant to grow in hanging baskets when I lived in California. I decided to try them as a ground cover beneath the Euphorbia. They are filling in just as I hoped but who knew they would bloom.

I love the crazy little curly cue stamen!

Originally from Southwest Africa these tiny succulents are commonly grown as houseplants. I have it as a porch plant were it is protected from too much sun or rain. They are said to be able to stand temperatures down 20 degrees. I cover mine if it goes below freezing. The strings can grow 2-3 feet long. They do not like to be over watered and should be allowed to dry out between waterings. They like some sun but not all day sun. If you fertilize them stop before winter and let them be cool and dry and that is what brings on the blooming. Usually they bloom in spring, clearly mine are a bit confused. They are fairly easy to propagate. Snip off a stand a few inches long and lay it flat in a pot of potting soil and press down till the balls are just barely showing. They usually root quickly from the axils where the leaves (pearls) are connected to the stems.

Looking forward to long strands spilling over the side of the their terracotta pot.

I am posting this as part of Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, which May Dreams Gardens hosts the 15th of every month. Click here to see what is blooming in other gardeners gardens. What is blooming at your house?

Happy Gardening!