Basket Flower at www.japanese-home-gardens.com

Make successive sowings over the summer. One of my favorite annuals is the basket flower (Centaurea amen-cana) and it's hard to understand why more fuss isn't made over this plant. This American wildfldwer is interesting in bud and splendid in bloom. Each flower sits alone on a 4-foot stem and opens to 4 inches across. The color is a light rose, and the flower resembles an open thistle without thorns. The common name refers to the unopened head, which is surrounded by soft, spiny, strawcolored appendages that overlap and give the distinctive appearance of tiny woven baskets. Basket flowers require no special soil but grow best in full sun.

More permanent installations require their own housings and these types are characterised by the basket strainer. Here, a suitably strengthened wire mesh or perforated plate shaped into a basket is placed inside a sealed housing through which the feed stream flows under pressure. In simplex systems the flow continues until the strainer is clogged with the unwanted solids. At this point the flow is interrupted and the basket is manually changed.

Box may be used, but basket is better because pet sleeps curled up. For young pet, half fill basket with soft, warm cloths and dry, soft hay or grass. For adult, use dry grass or hay only. Change bedding once weekly.