Your Backyard Garden Information Source
Digitalis – Foxglove, Witches’ Thimbles A well grown Foxglove in full flower is a plant of dignity and beauty. The long flowering spikes grow from 3 feet to 6 feet tall, rising high above large clumps of broad, downy leaves. Upon the flowering stalk, the flowers open slowly as the impulse to bloom moves upward. This tends to lengthen the […]
Were an artist to look upon a Petunia and wish that it had a delicate pattern traced upon its petals, he would create in his mind the Salpiglossis. The funnel-shaped flowers are borne upright upon slender but strong branches two feet tall. The flowers of Salpiglossis sinuala are crimson and gold, yellow and white, darkest maroon, scarlet and gold, violet […]
This hardy Marguerite is a sturdy, very easily grown plant. It is about 1 foot or 1 1/2 feet high, very bushy, with finely cut foliage somewhat resembling the Pyrethrums, and bears Daisy-like, yellow flowers in great profusion from June until Fall. The colors range from purest white to a rich yellow. Anthemis tinctoria Kelwayi is the best one for […]
Erigeron – Fleabane The Erigeron has Aster-like flowers which are in bloom during the Summer months. The different species vary in height from 5 inches to 3 feet. The flowers grow from small tufts of leaves, somewhat like the English Daisy (Bettis) and the blooms of the taller varieties measure 2 inches and 2 1/2 inches across. The colors are […]
There is hardly a group of flowers which possess such rare beauty as does the large genus of Campanulas. There are many sorts, some growing inches high and some from 4 feet to 6 feet high, but all have more or less bell-shaped flowers in lovely colors: white, clear pink, blue, rose, purplishrose, violet-blue and lavender. All of them are […]
How to grow Snapdragon flowers (Greek for like a nose, refers to form of the flowers) Few of our flowers are as fantastic in form as the Snapdragon, Antirrhinum majus. At the same time the colors attract us. There are delicate pinks, such as we find in a Rose, the yellows are like giant flowers of Toadflax, the deep maroons […]
Potentilla – Cinquefoil, Five Finger Potentillas greatly resemble the Strawberry Plant, especially in the manner of growth and the foliage. This is a trailing plant which covers the ground rapidly and sends out roots as it goes along. The flowers are very showy, the colors are very bright, with reds, oranges and yellows predominating. These flowers are both double and […]
How to grow Gentiana Gentiana (jen-te-a-na) Named after Gentius, King of Illyria who first used the plant medicinally (Gentianaceae). Gentian. A large genus of hardy perennials. Most of those in cultivation are dwarf plants suitable for the rock garden, but a few are more at home in the border. Some of them are lime-haters. Species cultivated G. acaulis (now considered […]
Standing in the middle of my back garden, I am immediately struck by two things: the number of weeds in every bed, and the constant singing of birds in neighboring trees. Usually I ignore the weeds (at least until I am in need of some mindless, stress-relieving toil), and focus instead on the bird song. Here, in one of the […]
Anemones To say that the Japanese Anemone is one of the best fall flowers would be an understatement-it is the best. Here is a plant and flower with real charm, refinement, and sophistication. The plant grows from 1 to 5 feet- tall, is erect and stately. Foliage is glossy and brilliant. Flowers are more or less saucer-shaped and vary from […]