Professional Gardening Tips
The long stems and tufted flowers of the annual Scabiosa (S. atropurpurea) are charming. The colors also are pleasing in all cases white, light pink, rose, fiery scarlet, pale yellow, azure blue, and deep blackish-purple. The stamens are light in […]
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 […]
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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
NICOTIANA Flowering Tobacco (Named for Jean Nicot, French consul to Portugal, who first presented tobacco to the courts of Portugal and France) The evening fragrance of the flowers of this plant is most delightful. Besides this, the flowers are attractive […]
DIASCIA (From the Greek to adorn, refers to the beautiful flowers) A dainty, little annual, Diascia barberae, is not a very showy flower, but one which will appeal to the true flower lover. The flowers are rosy pink with yellow-green […]
NIGELLA Love in a mist (Devil in the bush) (Lady-in-the-green) (Fennel flower) (Jack- in-the-bush) (Named from Latin for little black, alluding to the seeds) The fantastic names given to Nigella, which alone tempt anyone to grow it, have reference to […]
At last, the Zinnia has come into its own. Because it is of easy culture and does well for anyone, it has in the past been admired less than it deserves. Recently the seed growers of California have developed enormous […]