flowers! plants! New Orleans!
November 4, 2019 6:51 AM   Subscribe

What flowers and plants are in New Orleans?

I'm putting something together for a friend, and my list already has ones like southern magnolia, live oak, resurrection fern, and Spanish moss.

But I'd really like some plants that are characteristic of the city of New Orleans proper, in part this is a gift for a friend who lives in New Orleans, but also because she is an anti-racist activist, and magnolias, live oaks, and Spanish moss are associated with Southern plantations. (I do know that City Park in New Orleans has some of the most well-known live oaks in Louisiana, but still.)

So what do people grow in their yards in New Orleans, or in flower baskets? What pops up in unused lots? Are there certain flowers that are associated with certain seasons?

Native plants would be nice, but aren't really necessary -- for example, if I were to do it for Philadelphia, where I live now, it would be an elm (for the one supposedly at Penn's Landing), pawlonia (invasive, but previously planted in a ring around one of Philadelphia's big landmarks, and also spring up in disused lots all over the city), cherry trees (because they're a common street tree and their flowers are a sign that SPRING IS HERE!!!), gingko (a major street tree, and sometimes a female tree sneaks in, adding to the city aroma since we don't have regular street sweeping), rugosa roses (invasive, tough as nails and thriving in the tiny front yards characteristic of certain parts of the city), and sweet autumn clematis (because it grows all over chain link fences and gutters in the city, and the smell of it is a sign of fall).
posted by joyceanmachine to Home & Garden (11 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
poinsettias grow outdoors in the winter down there
posted by irisclara at 7:15 AM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: bouganvillea

doubt it is native and i don't live there so i can't say, but such a pretty plant.
posted by domino at 7:19 AM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: If there are any flowering plants I think of here they would be A.) night-blooming jasmine and B.) cat's claw which shows its beautiful yellow blooms all over abandoned buildings, and C.) crepe myrtle.
posted by komara at 7:44 AM on November 4, 2019 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Banana trees, elephant ears, wild ginger, crepe myrtle trees. Louisiana irises. Night-blooming jasmine for sure. You do see magnolia trees in the city, and they flower in the spring.

Although I understand your concern about the romantic plantation narrative, live oaks and Spanish moss are everywhere here, and I think most people who live here would associate them with our parks and main streets before they'd think of plantations.
posted by Siobhan at 7:50 AM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Sassafras—you need it for filé gumbo..
posted by Ideefixe at 7:57 AM on November 4, 2019


Azaleas are fairly common, though dunno that they're likely to volunteer anywhere.
posted by asperity at 7:57 AM on November 4, 2019


Best answer: Sweet olive
posted by Lawn Beaver at 8:41 AM on November 4, 2019 [4 favorites]


I grew up in NOLA and my mom (and my grandmother) always had giant azaleas & bougainvilleas. Crepe myrtle, dogwoods, elephant ears, honeysuckle, night jasmine, and kudzu (I know it's not native but it does flower).

Since you're not from the south I'll forgive you, but it's kind of bizarre & insulting that you think spanish moss, magnolias, & live oaks are associated with racists/plantations... all of those grow everywhere down there and have nothing to do with slavery..
posted by bradbane at 11:08 AM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: all of those grow everywhere down there and have nothing to do with slavery

Since it's come up twice: yes, I know they grow everywhere, and thank you, Siobahn, for letting me know that people in New Orleans won't see that and think plantations.

What I'm trying to get away from is the racist, romanticized idea of the South as nothing but live oaks and Spanish moss and magnolias in the moonlight by grand plantation driveways, and nothing else. I do not want to replicate that framework in my gift.
posted by joyceanmachine at 11:49 AM on November 4, 2019


Gardenias and camellias
posted by slenderloris at 12:38 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


Best answer: My grandma had a bird-of-paradise by her back door and I’ve seen a few in lovingly tended yards since moving back here.

Kudzu pops up in untended lots. Do not give her kudzu. Anyone who knowingly tends or spreads kudzu in the South is a traitor to the human race.
posted by egypturnash at 9:00 PM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]


« Older Key West and Cozumel day activities with 11 year...   |   Do you have insights on my oldster cat? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.