Professional Gardening Tips
CLEOME Spiderflower Cleome spinosa (pungens) (gigantea), grows 3 to 6 feet tall and is a most interesting garden subject. The four-petaled flowers are pinkish-lavender and white and are given a peculiar, airy appearance by the long-stemmed stamens and pistils, which […]
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 […]
PHACELIA (Named from the Greek for cluster; refers to clustering of flowers) The best known sort is Phacelia campanularia, the Harebell Phacelia, which bears Gentian-blue, bell-shaped flowers with contrasting white stamens on one-sided curved racemes. The plants grow 9 inches […]
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 […]
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. […]
COLLINSIA (Blue-eyed-mary) (Innocence) (Named for Zaccheus Collins, a Philadelphia botanist) The visitor to the woods knows the Blue-eyed-mary, Collinsia verna, one of the daintiest of annual wildflowers. Gene Stratton Porter also loved it, she writes: When winter’s chill has scarce […]
GODETIA Satin flower (Named for C. H. Godet, Swiss botanist) Closely related to the Evening primroses, the Godetias are deserving of greater attention. The flowers open wide and are of a satiny texture. Varieties may be had in rose and […]
LUPINUS Lupine (From lupus-wolf, destroying soil as does the wolf) Lupines are attractive plants bearing Pea like flowers in whorls upon long, graceful spikes. There are annual and perennial species. The annual varieties are mainly derived from the following species: […]
PHLOX – Texas pride (Name from Greek for a flame, perhaps first applied to another plant) The brilliance and clean colors of the annual Phlox, P. drummondi. make it a favorite in the garden. The flowers range from white to […]
SWEET ALYSSUM (Name derived from a-not lyssa, rage a myth relates that the plant dispels anger) The Sweet Alyssum is one of our most beloved white edging plants. Seed catalogs list many varieties of Alyssum maritimum, some being dwarf, tufted […]