Your Backyard Garden Information Source
When you want lots of color quickly, flowers to cut by the armful and bloom all summer, you want annuals. For earliest possible bloom, sow seeds indoors, then transplant-or buy started plants in May. But you’ll still get plenty of flowers if you wait till the danger of frost is past and sow the seed of quick-growing varieties where you […]
CLARKIA (This is a native of our Western States and was first found by members of the Lewis-Clark Expedition. It was consequently named for Captain Wm. Clark) These lovely annuals are becoming better known each year. Two species are commonly cataloged: Clarkia elegans and C. pulchella. In the latter species the petals are three-lobed at the tips. The flowers are […]
Marigold (Tages was an Etruscan god, but perhaps the name is of another derivation) Even the name-Mary’s Gold-captivates us, and what could be more appropriate? The flowers of these old, old favorites are in some varieties veritably made of flakes of gold. How easy it is to be wealthy with Mary’s Gold. The Aztec (African) Marigold (T. erecla) has large […]
Great simple Annual flower bed design for your yard. Below and Above a wall 1 . Verbena Crystal (white) 2. Centaurea Dusty Miller 3. Euonymous (evergreen, on wall) 4. Ageratum Blue Mink, and 5. Ageratum Fairy Pink 6. Celosia Yellow Toreador 7. Petunia SnowStorm (under- planting) 8. Geraniums peach pink color In a level bed 1. Dwarf marigold Lemon Ball […]
GILIA (Named for Philipp Salvador Gil, Spanish botanist) The Gilias are related to Phlox and, like them, have funnel or salver form flowers. Gilia capitata, Globe Gilia, is a blue sort with flowers in dense heads a half-inch across. The plants grow 18 inches tall and have finely cut foliage. Gilia coronopifolia (rubra), the Texasplume, grows 4 feet tall, has […]
LOBELIA (Named for M. L’Obel, botanist and physician of King James I) Clear blues are found among the annual Lobelias. The varieties of the Edging Lobelia, Lobelia erinus, the common species, are of two sorts-those which produce compact plants four inches tall, and trailing forms, which hang down for two or three feet over the sides of a pot. The […]
The Wishbone flower is a gem. Those who have not tried this annual, nor seen it growing, have a pleasant surprise in store for them if they will raise a few plants. The flowers of Torenia fournieri are violet and lavender with a prominent yellow blotch on the lip. There is a less attractive white variety. In the center, the […]
Each year the National Garden Bureau (ngb.org/year-of) names plants of the year, with the annual flower (lives only one year) for 2019 being snapdragon. This upright flower is easy to grow, has multiple garden uses, and comes in a multitude of colors. Although snapdragons are winter-hardy in warmer climates (USDA zones 7 to 10, such as the mid-Atlantic states and […]
Where to plant. Blue flowers are rather rare among annuals. This is one of the reasons for the great popularity of the Ageratum houstonianum (mexicanum). The flowers are dainty and feathery, often delightfully fragrant, and usually completely cover the plants. There are attractive dwarf, tufted plants as well as tall, upright growers. The dwarfer sorts appear to produce much more […]
TRACHYMENE (Daucus) Lace flower (Name from trachus-rough hymen-a membrane;channels of the fruit) Some few years ago an old favorite annual given the pleasing name of Lace flower was introduced. It is Trachymene caerulea. It is beautiful but does not always succeed as well as the old standbys. The flower heads are made up of small azure flowers produced in umbels […]