Professional Gardening Tips
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, […]
PHLOX – Texas pride (Name from Greek for a flame, perhaps first applied to another plant) The brilliance and clean colors of the annual Phlox, P. drummondi. make it a favorite in the garden. The flowers range from white to […]
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 […]
There are some annuals with showy fruits and among them none is so much admired as the Chinese Lantern plant, which produces large, inflated, orange-red, lantern-like pods containing small, fleshy fruits much like Tomatoes. The flowers are inconspicuous, being borne […]
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 […]
PORTULACA (Rosemoss) (Sunplant) (Seven-sisters) When one visits an old lady’s flower garden, no matter how small it may be, Portulacas are generally seen encroaching on the wide walks and in other little out-of-the-way places where the dry conditions would support […]
Whoever has grown a few of the various Celosias has surely been charmed either by their beauty or their fantasy of form. Celosias are sometimes confused with Amaranthus, which, however, is coarser and of which the colors are not so […]
REHMANNIA (Named for Joseph Rehmann, physician of Petrograd) Rehmannias are seldom seen in neither gardens nor even in catalogs and yet they are lovely, long, bell-shaped flowers; as lovely as almost any flower of the garden. Rehmannia angulata is really […]
RESEDA – Mignonette (Latin name Reseda means “to calm or appease,” and refers to the fact that the plant was employed by the Romans in treating bruises) The sweet fragrance of Mignonette, or Little Darling, is a luxury in any […]
IMPATIENS – Balsam (Snap weeds) (Touch-me-not) (Name from Impatiens, refers to elasticity of seed capsules, which when ripe spring open) The Garden Balsam or Lady slipper (Impatiens balsamina) is an old-fashioned favorite which is again coming into its own. The […]