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HUNNEMANNIA – Goldencup (Giant Yellow-tulip poppy) (Bush-eschscholtzia) (Named for John Hunnemann, an English botanist) An aristocrat among the Poppies, the Goldencup, bears a difficult botanical name, Hunnemannia fumariaefolia. The buttercup-yellow flowers are like those of California-poppies except that they are more crinkled, and of greater substance, furthermore, the plants are upright. The leaves are glaucous and thick, but finely cut. […]
MIRABILIS Four-o’clock (Marvel-of-peru) (Name from mirabilis, wonderful, or some say shortened form of Admirabilis) The Four-o’clocks are well known and were favorites with our grandmothers, just as they are admired by us today. The flowers remain closed until late afternoon, hence the name Four-o’clock. They are white, crimson, violet, yellow and striped. The plants are 2 feet tall, and during […]
RESEDA – Mignonette (Latin name Reseda means “to calm or appease,” and refers to the fact that the plant was employed by the Romans in treating bruises) The sweet fragrance of Mignonette, or Little Darling, is a luxury in any garden. “Its sweetness wins all hearts.” Some of the Mignonettes produce large trusses of bloom 8 inches long and 2 […]
ARGEMONE Prickle poppy (Mexican poppy) (Devils-fig) (Name derived from argema, a cataract of the eye; refers to supposed medicinal properties) These prickly-leafed, white and yellow Poppies are very interesting to grow. The white flowered sort (A. grandiflora) is really a perennial, but in the colder northern states, it is used as an annual although not as free flowering as the […]
NEMESIA (Name found in Dioscorides, an early botanical writer) The English have admired and grown Nemesias in their cool climate and all have admired them in places where they grow well. At Ohio State University they grown them in the greenhouse but find that our Summers are too hot and dry, except when they are started in the Winter and […]
Provided is a list of annuals and perennials that grow well in very poor soil. If addtional infromation is required about the plant, please use the search feature on the page. Bartonia (Mentzelia aurea)Were it not for the straggling growth, Barlonia aurea (Menlzelia lindleyi) would be a much more popular annual. The glistening, Poppy-like flowers are golden and are furnished […]
ARTEMISIA Wormwood (Named for Artemisia, the wife of the mythological Mausolus) One species of Artemisia, A. sacrorum, is annual. It is also called Russian Wormwood (Summerfir). The plants grow fully 6 feet tall. The leaves are very finely divided, lacy and are either a deep green or gray. The flowers are very minute, but in mass give a greenish yellow […]
The Annual Delphinium is one of the best-known annuals, bearing long racemes of lovely colored flowers and lacy foliage. They have undergone great improvement in the color and the fullness of the spikes. The colors range from white to carmine, light pink, scarlet, light blue, and dark purple. There are two main types. Those varieties derived from Delphinium ajacis are […]
IMPATIENS – Balsam (Snap weeds) (Touch-me-not) (Name from Impatiens, refers to elasticity of seed capsules, which when ripe spring open) The Garden Balsam or Lady slipper (Impatiens balsamina) is an old-fashioned favorite which is again coming into its own. The double and semi-double sorts, well called Camellia-flowered, are practically the only ones grown. These plants are closely related to the […]
These small, dainty plants from California are of a spreading habit and the leaves are pale green, deeply cut and slightly hairy. In Nemophila menziesi var. insignis, Baby-blue-eyes, the flowers are cup shaped, blue or white. The tips of the petals of N. maculata, the Spotted Nemophila, are spotted with deep purple, the rest being white. Most other Nemophilas found […]