Japanese Iris – If you are looking for a unique, magical flower that will add a colorful pop of life to your garden, look no further than the lovely Japanese Iris (Iris japonica). The Japanese Iris are large graceful flowers with an unusual twist. The triple-petaled blooms appear to be floating above their delicate stems
Jatropha (Gout plant, Buddha belly plant) once belonged in the textbook rather than the garden center, but it is now widely available perennial plant. In Central America it occurs naturally in arid environments – makes it quite adapted to their climate and sandy soils, not needing any supplemental watering. Jatropha is a remarkable oddity –
Asters provide some of the best plants for the garden at any time of the year. They add a bright range of colors and shades, giving the border a much needed end-of-season lift. This large genus includes the well-known Michaelmas daisies, essential plants for the fall garden, many of which flower from late summer until
Indoor Plants Temperature Guide – The natural home of most indoor plants lies in the Tropics. In this country they are raised commercially in glasshouses. These two simple facts have given rise to the widespread belief that high temperatures are essential for the proper cultivation of house plants. The truth is that very few types
Amaranthus is a beauty to have in the garden. Flower with names (Amaranth, Tampala, Tassel flower, Flaming fountain, Fountain plant, Joseph’s coat, Love-lies-bleeding, Molten flower, Prince’s feather) is better known as a bold bedding plant rather than as an indoor plant, but it can be grown successfully on a windowsill or in the conservatory. In
Provide a natural food source by planting shrubs to feed the birds – shrubs and trees that will provide berries and fruit to your birds all year long. What is wonderful about fruit bearing trees and shrubs is the glorious flowers they produce in advance of the flowers turning to seeds/berries that the birds just
Succulent plants are slightly different from typical herbaceous perennial plants because succulents are plants that have adapted to environments in which water is unavailable for long periods of time. As a result of this, much of their uniqueness is related to their relationship with water. Succulent plants are very efficient when it comes to collecting
Crinum is a half hardy bulb that is often grown as an annual plant. Common names for members Crinum include Cape lily, bengal Lily, Crinum Lily, spider Lily and swamp lily. Everything about Crinum is extraordinarily large – the 6 inches bulb, the 3 ft tall flower-stalk and the magnificent 7 inches long trumpets in
A weed is a plant growing in the wrong place, and in the lawn that means any plant which is not a variety of grass recommended for turf production. It is not unusual to see a newly-sown lawn infested with a wide variety of common weeds. When the lawn is established, however, the introduction of
Shrub roses are an easy, colorful choice to use anywhere you would plant a shrub. Unlike many roses, shrub roses are perfect for planting anywhere. They’re ‘plant-friendly’ and are good neighbors in any collection of flowers. Shrub roses are also very winter-hardy, and they are highly disease-resistant. These round, easily-maintained bushes are not small, either.
There is an obvious fascination in having an orange or lemon tree at home, but if you want it to bear fruit, then you will have to buy a citrus trees selected for their ability to grow indoors. The problem is that plants raised at home from pips will not fruit until they are too
Marigolds – The most common types of marigold are the wild marsh marigold, the tall African marigold, and the robust French marigold. African and French cultivars frequently are hybrid to sustain longer bloom and soften their pungent aroma. The resulting plant is called a triploid marigold, which is commonly called the mule marigold because of
