Osteospermum, or African daisy, South African daisy, Cape daisy and blue-eyed daisy, can be found all over Southern California. They’ll grow just about anywhere, hence the title of this post.
When I first moved to the area, I asked a nurseryman what the beautiful purple and yellow (and white) flowers were. He raised an eyebrow, then said in the most disdainful tone, “Oh, you mean freeway daisies.” As if they were common weeds.
I still love them, especially the yellow variety.
{carole}
Pearls & Prose 
Lovely daisies……
Thank you!
I love ANY flowers that grow by the sides of roads (or in old cemeteries) – they are wonderful reminders of how generous Mother Nature is with us.
So true, Susan! I once tried to replant chicory that I saw by the road in North Carolina. No matter what I did, it died. I finally figured out that the plant needed a lousy environment. 🙂
I think they are very pretty. You can even buy them here and plant them in your garden. It doesn’t look as if they were considered weeds.
No, they’re not weeds at all. The nurseryman was a bit of a snob. 🙂
I would love to see these growing next to the freeway or in my backyard. They’re lovely either way. I think daisies bring a lot of cheer.
They are definitely cheery and used as a groundcover in many places in San Diego.
Hard to believe these grow ‘wild’, Carole. Since we refuse to ever cut grass again at the new house, besides selling our lawn car equipment we seeded with wild flowers. I’ll bet non of those will be a delightful as these beauties.
I’m afraid I’ve given a false impression, Cheryl. They are not exactly wild, but do grow everywhere with very little maintenance. They are sold in nurseries like regular flowers, but are often used as groundcovers.
The nurseryman I dealt with really looked down on them!
Too bad for him!
Exactly.
I love them, even if they are freeway daisies. In Colorado, Black-Eyed Susan grew along the highways and I loved seeing them. I actually miss seeing them everyday.
I love them too. Tried planting Black-Eyed Susan in Virginia and they got all moldy. Probably too-rich soil, once again.
Moldy! Haven’t heard of that. But I’m not much of a gardener. Let’s just say if you go out of town you don’t want me to tend to your plants. I can take care of animals, but plants.
Yes, they were covered with black stuff that looked just like mold. I probably overwatered them.
I have a short list of plants I can grow well and I’m sticking to it. 🙂
I have a 4-5 year old african daisy bush (flower is light apricot going to lavendar at the edges). It’s gotten really leggy and is not producing many flowers any more). I’ve never pruned it. So I’m going to try prunning it but in case I kill it — I’d like to take some cuttings and get a few more plants going. What do I do?
I’m so sorry, I can’t give gardening advice. I mostly photograph flowers. Do you have a local nursery you can call? That’s what I usually do, unless I can find the answer on line. Good luck with the pruning!