Plant care Centaurea – Cornflower and Sweet-sultan, Annual Flower Information

CENTAUREA . Cornflower and Sweet-sultan (Name derived from a certain centaur that was famous for his ability as a healer) There is a vast array of Centaureas, both annuals and perennial. All of them have more or less thistle-like flowers. SPECIES. Cornflower (Bachelor-button) (Frenchpink) (Bluebottle) (Keiserbloom) (Ragged-sailor) (Bluet). Cenfaurea cyanus. A popular blue, purple, rose or white sort. The double […]

Plant care for Ionopsidium – Diamond flower, Annual Flower Information

IONOPSIDIUM – Diamond flower (Carpet plant)(Violet cress) (From io-the violet; violet-like, referring to the color of the flowers) Related to Candytuft, lonopsidium acaule is one of the most charming of the diminutive plants. It comes from Portugal. The flowers are violet, small, but borne in great numbers. The plants are not over 8 or 4 inches tall but the flower […]

Plant care for PORTULACA (Rosemoss) (Sunplant) (Seven-sisters), Annual Flower Information

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 few other plants. The dazzling, glossy-petaled flowers are clear yellow, white, scarlet, crimson, orange, and rose. The double sorts are […]

Plant care for Chrysanthemum annual, Annual Flower Information

CHRYSANTHEMUM, ANNUAL (French Marguerite) (Crowndaisy) (Name derived from chrysos, golden; anthos flower, refers to fact that some species are yellow) The Annual Chrysanthemums are popular in England, but not well known here although they grow nicely in the United States. The most popular sorts are: Chrysanthemum coronarium, the Crowndaisy, or Garland C., which grows 3 feet tall and is typically […]

Plant care for Layia – Tidytips, Annual Flower Information

LAYIA Tidytips (Named for Thomas Lay, naturalist) A California Daisy-like annual, Layia elegans, has yellow flowers with the rays often white-tipped. The plants are more or less hairy throughout. It grows about 12 inches tall. USE. The unusual white tipped yellow Daisies serve to distinguish this annual from most others. It may be considered a garden subject or cut flower. […]

Plant care for Cleome Spiderflower, Annual Flower Information

CLEOME Spiderflower Cleome spinosa (pungens) (gigantea), grows 3 to 6 feet tall and is a most interesting garden subject. The four-petaled flowers are pinkish-lavender and white and are given a peculiar, airy appearance by the long-stemmed stamens and pistils, which protrude from the flowers for several inches. The plants have a peculiar odor. The stems are more crowded with flowers […]

LAVATERA – Treemallow (Annual-mallow), Annual Flower Information

LAVATERA – Treemallow (Annual-mallow) (Named for the Lavater brothers, botanists of Switzerland) The name Mallow is applied to a number of plants of various habits, all of which bear flowers that resemble Hollyhocks. The common Layia elegans annual Lavatera is L. trimestris (rosea), with blossoms of a very bright shrimp-pink 2 to 3 inches in diameter. The white flowered varieties […]

Sanvitalia Annual Flower Information

Sanvitalia procumbens flowers are much like tiny Zinnias, being golden yellow with very dark purple centers, some of them single and others double. The plants grow only 6 inches tall, or rather they are prostrate and spread over the soil instead of growing upward. They start blooming in June and continue until frost. USE. They may be used as edging […]

Plant care for COLLINSIA (Blue-eyed-Mary) (Innocence), Annual Flower Information

COLLINSIA (Blue-eyed-mary) (Innocence) (Named for Zaccheus Collins, a Philadelphia botanist) The visitor to the woods knows the Blue-eyed-mary, Collinsia verna, one of the daintiest of annual wildflowers. Gene Stratton Porter also loved it, she writes: When winter’s chill has scarce left earth And April winds blow “Hey down derry !” Comes gaily dancing down my hill Sweet, laughing, Blue-eyed-mary. She […]

Plant care for Flowering Flax, Annual Flower Information

LINUM Flowering Flax (From linon, flax) There are several annual Flaxes, including Linum grandiflorum (coccineum), the Scarlet Flax, about a foot tall, with wide-open, glossy flowers, and L. usilatissimum, the Flax of commerce which bears blue flowers, and grows 3 feet tall. Where to Plant. The Flax is truly beautiful and forms clumps in the border where the glowing flowers […]