Your Backyard Garden Information Source
Provided is a list of annuals and perennials that grow well in very poor soil. If addtional infromation is required about the plant, please use the search feature on the page. Bartonia (Mentzelia aurea)Were it not for the straggling growth, Barlonia aurea (Menlzelia lindleyi) would be a much more popular annual. The glistening, Poppy-like flowers are golden and are furnished […]
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 […]
EUPHORBIA Spurge (Named for Euphorbus, physician to the King of Mauritania) This is an interesting genus of plants, which give off a milky juice when any part is bruised or broken. The upper leaves are in many cases showy, while the flowers are inconspicuous. It is to this group of plants that the popular Christmas Poinsettia belongs. SPECIES. Painted Spurge […]
IBERIS – Candytuft (Name from Iberia, the ancient name of Spain. The word Candytuft was originally Candia tuft, signifying the tufted plant from Candia) The neat heads of Candytuft bloom are always greatly admired. Many persons confuse this flower with Sweet-alyssum which bears smaller flowers in smaller clusters and has a longer season of bloom. The white Candytuft is most […]
From the Greek helein, to kill, bora, food; some species are poisonous (Ranunculaceae). Hellebore. Hardy perennials, often retaining their leaves through the winter, with thick fibrous roots. All flower early in the year and the flowers are long lasting. Most of them have handsome, leathery, divided leaves, sometimes spiny. They are natives of southern Europe and western Asia. Species cultivated […]
Learn the August garden tasks for your gardening hardiness zone. Do you know what your hardiness zone? Once known, then find the required task. Zone 1 Sow seeds of wildflowers and fall veggies Aerate, dethatch and fertilize the lawn As first frosts threaten, pick mature green tomatoes to ripen in a dark, cool place indoors Purchase containerized trees and shrubs […]
Saliva – Sage LIGHT BLUE SALVIAS. Salvia Azurea grandiflora. This species is one of great beauty, bearing light azure colored flowers in great profusion upon tall, slender spikes. The plants grow from 3 feet to 4 feet tall and bloom from August until frost. S. farinaceaclosely resembles the former species, except that the calyx ; enclosing the flowers is a […]
Callirhoe – Poppy Mallow The Poppy Mallow has long, trailing stems with many saucer shaped or Poppy-shaped flowers. These flowers are borne in the axils of the leaves and vary in color from rosy crimson to cherry red and rose, with white centers. Callirhoe involucrata is the most useful species and blooms all during the Summer and early Fall. The leaves […]
Cimicifuga – Bugbane, Bugwort, Virginia Snakeroot, Black Cohosh To all persons who are familiar with the common wild or native woodland plants, the Snakeroot is well known. This Snakeroot (Cimicifuga racemosa) is a very tall, late blooming plant, growing from 4 feet to 8 feet tall and flowering from July or August on. The large leaves are cut very deeply […]