Strange Plant/Weird Plants recommendations

Hi there,
can someone recommend some strange looking plants, or just ones that are unusual for their size (eg I've just been looking at giant red peppers).
I want to make the garden, as well as Vegetables etc, a kind of surreal place.


Any recommendations would be suuuperb...

:D

 

One of my favorite weirds is Cleome hasselerina, which is the picture in my avatar. Its a half hardy annual, which can grow up to 4 or 5 feet. In my avatar there were three in a large pot, and they reached my head height (I am over 6 foot). The flower heads are huge, but as you can see from these links not solid. http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/204.shtml .....http://www.gardensandplants.com/uk/plant.aspx?plant_id=897

The first link suggests an experienced skill level, but I have found them very easy to grow. The main problem is starting the seeds off and putting plants out too early. Cold weather early in the year can seriously set them back.

 

Another seriously weird group is Echium. I am intending to have a go at these myself. These are a bit more challenging as they are are tender and need to be overwintered. Many of them are also monocarpic (ie die after flowering). There are other members of this forum who can tell you more than I can.

http://www.wildchicken.com/nature/garden/nature_200_136.htm
http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=15579

 

Just had some more thoughts.



This is Salvia sclarea - it's striking, and may or may not be weird. Its a hardy biennial, or sometimes a short lived perennial. It's 4 or 5 foot high, and the colour comes not from the flowers, but from the coloured bracts (leaves).



This is the flower of Salvia involucrata. The flower is most strange. It's a tender perennial that needs winter protection.



This is Salvia leucantha. Another tender perennial. These flowering stems can be up to 2 or even 3 feet long. They look like and feel like velvet. This is one of the most beautiful of all Salvias.

Other thoughts are Macleaya cordata. http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/8971.shtml This is a large plant, that can grow up to 14 feet! The floweris unusual in that it doesn't have any petals. Hardy perennial.

Alliums may or may not come in your category. My favorite is Allium christophii. http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantprofile_allium.shtml The link gives the best types, to which I would add Allium hollandicum and Allium 'Mont Blanc'. All very easy hardy perennials.

Echinacea 'Double Decker' http://seeds.thompson-morgan.com/euf/en/product/4590/1 certainly qualifies as a weird flower. But to my mind its not natural. Hardy perennial.

Perovskia (Russian sage - but neither Russian nor Sage)- I love. http://www.pioneergardens.com/images/perovskia sittle spire 67557.jpg Its unusual rather than weird and impressive in the flesh. A hardy perennial.

Verbena bonariensis http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/perennials/other-perennials/classid.3696/ is a superb plant. I wouldn't class it a weird, but it is unusual in that it is so thin that it is see through. So you can have five foot plants at the front of the border and still see everything behind. Pretty hardy perennial.

Tradescantia andersonia is a weird looking plant as the flowers have no stalks but just sit in the leaf axil. http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/794/ Hardy perennial.

Dierama (Anges' fishing rods) is certainly unusual. http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plant_finder/plant_pages/7606.shtml . Reasonably hardy perennial. I am sure that there are plenty more types of weird plant.

 

Right away without looking at books, I could think of:

Hardy: Arum dracunculus. Rosa pteracantha. Sedum telephium "purple emperor" and "Linda and Rodney". Hydrangea aspera subsp. sargentiana.Corylus avellana "contorta". All the so called "black"flowers, but they need to be seen up close, and will not make a show in the garden, so just use them as little accents. The common globe artichoke becomes a spectacular plant.

Tender: Strelizia nicolai,most heliconias. All stapelias. Sansevieria cilindrica.