I can never resist this flower which is also one of my mum's favourite flowering plants. The plants are short-lived but showy and amazingly colourful. So once I have a garden big enough to do it - I planted a whole row of various colours - six, to be exact.
This is the Balsam Rose or Impatiens balsamina. It is also known as Touch-Me-Not and amongst the Chinese, Finger Nail Flowers, so named as the flowers were used by Chinese women in the past to colour their nails.
Children love the plants for their seed pods. Once ripened, even a gentle squeeze will cause the pods to explode with surprising force. The plants self-seed very heavily and on germination have to be heavily thinned out to prevent the next generations of plants becoming too spindly. In traditional Chinese medicine, this plant is use to treat various ailments and in folk medicine to reduce body ordours.
Children love the plants for their seed pods. Once ripened, even a gentle squeeze will cause the pods to explode with surprising force. The plants self-seed very heavily and on germination have to be heavily thinned out to prevent the next generations of plants becoming too spindly. In traditional Chinese medicine, this plant is use to treat various ailments and in folk medicine to reduce body ordours.
The plants certainly provide a very nice splash of colours of the garden!
I am collecting their seeds from parks and will definitely sow them
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