How to Germinate any Seed – Growing Seed Requirements

A seed is an embryo plant and contains virtually all the materials and energy to start off a new plant. To get the most from one’s seeds it is needful to understand a little about their needs so that just the right conditions can be given for successful growth. One of the most usual causes of failures with seed is […]

Bee-Friendly Plants for Your Landscaping

Reports show that the population of bees has continued to fall, putting food security at risk as they play a crucial role in pollination. The fast population decline can be attributed to the continued use of agricultural chemicals, climate change, and other factors such as urban development. When landscaping or setting up your garden, don’t only think about how good […]

Growing and Collecting Cacti

The growing and collecting of cacti has been a popular hobby in this country for many years. Their varied shapes and colors together with the colored spines make them fascinating and their spectacular flowers are an added interest for the grower. Some of the larger types may not flower in this country owing to the lack of intense sunshine, but […]

Growers Guide for Geum Plants

A genus of hardy herbaceous perennials, some of which are useful border plants, the dwarf species are good rock garden plants. Several are natives of the British Isles but those valued for gardens are from Europe, South America, and the Near East. From the Greek geno, to impart an agreeable flavor, referring to the aromatic roots of some species (Rosaceae). […]

Planting plants in pots

There are several important stages in the cultivation of a plant and one of these is the planting of plants in pots. This is known as potting. The move is dictated by the vigor of the plant, especially in its root system. Once it outgrows its original soil area in a pot it is necessary to provide more room for […]

Growers Guide for Cassia Shrub

Mostly evergreen shrubs, chiefly from tropical America, belonging to the Pea family, Leguminosae. They grow from 6-50 ft. in height, have pinnate, dark green, glossy leaves, and bear golden-yellow flowers in terminal clusters in summer. Cassia is from the original Greek name Kasia. Most Cassias are hardy outdoors in the far South only. There they grow freely in light, well-drained […]

Oxypetalum caeruleum – A Good Blue Tender Perennial

Oxypetalum caeruleum is a South American member of the Milkweed Family which deserves to be better known. A reference to it in an English gardening magazine aroused my interest, and in the summer I sowed a packet of seeds in a flat. They germinated well, and in the autumn the little plants were potted up, and placed in the greenhouse […]

Growers Guide for Spiderwort – Tradescantia

Commemorating John Tradescant (died 1637), gardener to Charles I (Commelinaceae). A genus of 60 species of hardy perennial and greenhouse plants from North America and tropical South America. The hardy varieties are commonly called spiderwort, flower of a day, Moses-in-the-bulrushes, or devil-in-the pulpit. According to some botanists thegarden plants grown under the name Tradescantia virginiana belonging to a hybrid group […]

Seaside Gardening Plants

The almost constant enemies of seaside gardening are wind, salt and sand. Frost, however, is neither so prolonged nor so severe on the coast as it is inland, and seaside gardeners have been able to grow many frost-tender plants in the milder climate of their coastal gardens. Inland gardeners have little idea how powerful is the effect of coastal wind […]

Growers Guide for Bee Balm – Monarda Plant

Named after a sixteenth-century Spanish physician and botanist, Nicholas Monardes (Labiatae). A small genus of annual and perennial herbs from North America, with fragrant leaves and flowers, related to Salvia. The leaves are nettle-like, and the flowers have a spiky appearance and are clustered together in whorls: the color ranges from white through pink, mauve, and purple to red. Species […]

Growing and planting African and French Marigolds

Easily Grown Flowers for Gardens and Greenhouses Marigolds (Tagetes ) are annuals of great decorative value during the summer and autumn months. They are natives of Mexico and South America and belong to the Daisy family, Compositae. The name is said to have been derived from a mythological deity, Tages. These Marigolds are quite distinct from the Pot Marigold or […]