What Did they Sell Me?

[roadrunner]

I got some flowers...finally.

These flowers are roughly the size of a U.S. Nickel, which is about 21-1/4 millimeters.

 

[Daren]

A Blue Flax (Linum) of some kind ............See what others think?.............They are great in the garden but are also commercially grown for linseed oil in fields near me in summer & I believe that some variety's are grown to make linen (I think?)

 

[roadrunner]

The descriptions I've read on the foliage of Blue Flax doesn't quite match what I see; however, I'm struck by just how similar the flower looks. I'm thinking you got me in the neighborhood of what's in my garden... Flax Seed, interesting...

 

[roadrunner]

Thanks to Daren, I think the mystery has been solved...It's hard to find good photos of Flax, but I found these two videos and they look very much like what I have growing in my yard.

This is what happened... The Alyssum I planted was old, so I guess it never germinated. However, I did spread some Flax seeds last year and forgot all about it, because they never germinated (I cast the seeds all over the place, plus in an area that I observed for a while, but never saw it germinate).

I forgot about this, because I never really intended to grow flax was just curious what it would look like, I had some seeds laying around from a local health food store and I still actually have some in my covert.

Yesterday I looked closely in my garden and I have some other areas that are now growing flax. I don't remember when I threw out these seeds, but it was definitely last year during the summer. I'm guessing they needed a little bit of a cold stratification period before germinating.

What's funny is that I don't remember throwing the flax seeds in the area where I got the most of them (but I was throwing them all over the place) and the ones that I took a picture of and posted here is the same area that I threw the Alyssum, just a few weeks earlier. However, I know that they were Alyssum seeds or at least they were NOT flax seeds, because the size of flax seeds are so much bigger -- I would have noticed it once I opened the Alyssum seed package.

Bottom line: Health food store bought flax seeds

 

[MaryMary]

I believe that some variety's are grown to make linen (I think?)

Yes! There are a couple old fairy tales about people spinning flax. One is The Three Spinning Women by the Brothers Grimm, and The Flax by Hans Christian Andersen.

It is also flax that the old woman is spinning when Sleeping Beauty finds her.

In a little room sat an old woman with a spindle, busily spinning her flax. The old woman was so deaf that she had never heard the King's command that all spindles should be destroyed. http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/sleeping-beauty/story.htm

Bottom line: Health food store bought flax seeds

Yay!! Another mystery solved!!

 

[Daren]

They are A pretty thing in the garden If you like them, leave a few to go to seed & your always have them
............Mary I love the Flax Facts

 

[MaryMary]

Flax Facts! ( <- Say that 3 times, fast! .) (It's really hard to do. .)

 

[Marck]

The confusingly similarity in the leaves of Flax (Linum spp.) and Toadflax (Linaria spp.) is reflected in both their common and Latin names.
The common name 'Toadflax' refers to how the plant resembles Flax but is useless for producing either linen fibers or linseed oil,
while the Latin name 'Linaria' means 'similar to Linum'.

Also as mentioned in Post # 4, there are Euphorbia with leaves similar to Linaria and Linum, such as Euphorbia x 'Blue Haze' and Euphorbia x 'Dean's Hybrid'.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Also used for bowstrings.