Professional Gardening Tips
SILENE – Catchfly (From the Greek for saliva, referring to the stickiness of the stems of some species) The Sweet-William Catchfly, Silene armeria, is a little known but worthy annual and grows 1 to 2 feet tall. The flowers 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 […]
The rich colors of the Verbena have endeared it to us for years and years. Our mothers and their mothers grew it, and we have seen them use hairpins to get it to root along the stems. Most persons know […]
ARCTOTIS Bushy Arctotis (Blue-eyed-African-daisy) (Name derived from arklos-a bear, ous-an ear; refers to shaggy fruit) The lovely daisylike flowers of Arclolis grandis are useful for cut flowers. The upper sides of the petals are white and the reverse lilac blue, […]
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, […]
Annual gardening plants classed as annuals are those which complete their life cycle within the space of one year and in this group, we find some of our most useful garden flowers. We also commonly place in this class a […]
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 […]
ERYSIMUM Blistercress (Fairy Wall flower) (Derived from the Greek words to draw blisters) Closely related to the Wallflower, the Afghan Blistercress, Erysimum perofskianum, bears most brilliant orange flowers in lengthening terminal racemes. Especially admirable are these annuals in late Summer, […]
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 […]
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 […]