The tiny flowers have prominent stamens, giving them a fluffy look. The flower clusters are large, up to 8 inches wide. The flowers are long lasting as cut flowers and retain their color when dried. It resembles foxglove, but its flowers are a more vivid pink. The flower stems rise above a rosette of fuzzy, green leaves and bloom all summer long.
Ice plant is an underused annual that is a great choice for hot, sunny, dry spots in the garden.
It forms a wide cushion of succulent, silver-green leaves that are only a couple of inches tall. The flowers close at night and on cloudy days. Because of its short stature, it makes a great edging plant. I also use it in containers where it trails over the edge. Melampodium is a wonderful underused annual that forms a neat, rounded mound.