Golden Sword Yucca (Yucca filamentosa) is a yellow variegated selection of a yucca native southeast of Missouri & Kansas. It is still very hardy and tolerant of our humidity and regular garden soil so is a colorful standby for winter gardens in Greater Kansas City. A glowing sunset back lighting the foliage can be stunning!
Next June our yuccas will be crowned by sturdy 4-6 foot candelabras of white, bell-like flowers. If Mrs. yucca moth is around she will individually pollinate flowers and lay an egg. The young caterpillar will eat the developing seeds but never damages them all. Yuccas cannot be pollinated by anything else but a skilled gardener! If pollinated, the flower stalk will become woody and adorned with beautiful upfacing pods -- adding additional interest to the following winter's landscape. Our yuccas depicted can all be seen in the Fountain Garden so are just 2 seasons old. We expect them to have their first blooms this summer.
Both our native prickly-pears become beautifully weathered as they dehydrate themselves to survive the winter. They are beautifully displayed on the Island Garden where they spill over the living wall -- forced to be confined between shady shrubs above and the wall below. Come back to see them around the summer solstice when they will be in full bloom with gorgeous, large yellow blossoms. The flowers are very pollen and nectar rich and attract a plethora of beneficial pollinators. We highly recommend them as garden plants but BEWARE where you put them! The spines are sharp and smaller, hair-like spines can be a real nuisance where only rubber cement can remove them from your skin.
All photos taken by Alan Branhagen at Powell Gardens on January 9, 2008.
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