The agapanthus (a-guh-pan-thuhs) plants are outdoor garden perennial flowers that bloom in the summer. They are more commonly known as the “Lily of the Nile” or the African lily plant. Apaganthus plants belong to a subfamily of flowering plants known as the Agapanthoideae, the Amaryllidaceae family. This family of plants is in the same family … Read more
Glamorous greenhouse mums can be grown outdoors. An enthusiastic group of backyard gardeners in St. Louis, Missouri, proves it. Although none of these enthusiasts use identical methods, they all manage to coax prodigious bloom from small plantings. And, remarkably enough, the fancy big mums are proving to be about as cold-resistant as the so-called hardy … Read more
Today many of us think of primroses almost entirely as potted plants where the two Chinese species, Primula obconica, and malacoides, are the most popular. Of course, if one has a greenhouse or a not-too-warm window, one’s interest can logically be centered on these two beautiful primroses. However, primroses can also be grown in the … Read more
Perhaps you haven’t seen irises lately. You may recall them as those early fleeting blooms in drab violets or washed-out yellows seen everywhere some 60 years ago, thriving on neglect but adding little to the beauty or variety of the garden. Or maybe you have acquired a new taste for the iris, but find the … Read more
What do you think when geraniums are mentioned? In frostless or near frostless regions, Florists and gardeners probably visualize the showy pelargonium or one of its ilk. But speak of geraniums to the gardener of the Northwest or England or too many an eastern gardener. He will refer to the hardy geraniums or cranesbills, wildflowers … Read more
For more than 400 years the Japanese have cultivated a kind of iris almost entirely unknown to the average American gardener. Near Tokyo there is the garden Kotaka-en where these unfamiliar beauties have been grown and improved since early in the 17th century. What has kept them from American gardeners? Mostly the myth that they … Read more
The few requirements for primroses are easily met and are found in practically every garden. They do require shade throughout Mid-America, but this is always available on the north side of the house or in the shade of shrubs, evergreens or trees. Primroses not only offer a variety of form, size, color, the habit of … Read more
Fuchsia (fyoo-shuh) is a perennial, trailing woody vine belonging to the genus Fuchsia and family Onagraceae, most commonly known as Willowherb or Evening Primrose family. The genus and color term Fuchsia originated from the first fuchsia plant discovered in the 17th century by Father Charles Plumier, botanist and missionary in the Dominican Republic. Plumier named … Read more
How often have you heard someone say, “Oh, yes, tulips are beautiful, but they don’t stay that way, and I can’t afford to buy new ones every year or two?” It is unnecessary to buy new bulbs every fall to have a fine display each spring. It is true that old bulbs, left in the … Read more
Flowers of peace. Flowers of war. Flowers of history. Flowers of hope! National flowers are rarely deliberately chosen. Instead, they spring from the history, tradition, and living of a people. They are brought into a country by the conqueror, like the tulip of Turkey, and assimilated and nationalized over the centuries. Or they are honored … Read more