Your Backyard Garden Information Source
LAVATERA – Treemallow (Annual-mallow) (Named for the Lavater brothers, botanists of Switzerland) The name Mallow is applied to a number of plants of various habits, all of which bear flowers that resemble Hollyhocks. The common Layia elegans annual Lavatera is L. trimestris (rosea), with blossoms of a very bright shrimp-pink 2 to 3 inches in diameter. The white flowered varieties […]
CYNOGLOSSUM Houndstongue (From Greek cuon-dog; glossa-tongue, refers to papillae on seeds, which gives the texture of a tongue) Recently a lovely blue Forget-me-not-like flower has been introduced to our gardens known as Cynoglossum amabile and cataloged as the Chinese Forget-me-not. It may be described as a columnar Forget-me-not, growing 2 feet tall, with long sprays of deep, clear blue flowers […]
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 […]
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 […]
DIANTHUS – China Pink (Name derived from Dios-Jove; anthos, flower-Divine flower) Admiration for Pinks is universal. These annual forms can be distinguished from the perennial sorts in two ways: the flowers are without fragrance, and the leaves are broader. China Pinks, Dianthus chinensis, are wonderfully bright in color-crimson, rose, purplish-red, maroon, salmon and lilac. The flowers are both single and […]
BROWALLIA (Amethyst) (An interesting story is told of the naming of the Browallia. Linnaeus was greatly pleased and elated with the ability of Bishop Browall as a botanist and accordingly named a species for him, Browallia elata, but at a later date he changed his opinion of the bishop and also the name of the plant to B. demissa) The […]
When Shakespeare mentioned the Marygold he meant Calendula officinalis, which for wealth of bloom, is without a rival. As the plants self-sow, many persons have them in their gardens year after year. Flowers from such chance seedlings are often small and single so that some persons have tired of them, but were they to purchase seed of some of the […]
As the annual Asters differ from our wild Asters and were introduced from China, they should properly be known as China-asters, Callistephus chinensis. From a violet colored Daisy-like flower with a yellow center, the China aster has been bred to assume a multitude of forms and colors. Previous to 20th century, the China aster was not considered a cut flower […]
Annuals are easy to grow, but we need a little help finding a great plan to follow. Enclosed is a design supporting 27 annual flowers. 1. Cosmos Primrose 2. zinnia Calif. Giant. Lemon Queen 3. Scabiosa tall double Cherry Red 4. Snapdragon Sentinel Commander 5. Marigold Golden Fluffy 6. Gloriosa Daisy 7. Celosia Flaming Fire 8. Celosia Golden Fleece 9. […]