Flowers can bloom in the winter garden. Clear away the thought that winter is only about conifers and broad-leaved evergreens as the dominant feature in winter. Blooming flowers can give the winter garden a feeling of warmth. This list of winter-blooming flowers is aimed at gardens near 40 degrees North latitude (this latitude runs from […] More
Autumn has a special effect on all plants in the garden. Annuals and perennials are one part of the whole. Many trees and shrubs will be adding their own special effects in autumn. In selecting annuals and perennials for the autumn garden, it is necessary to know not only the overall effect your design will […] More
Summer is the time when the greatest number of blooms appear in the garden. Summer temperatures are warm enough to sow or transplant out all warm-season annuals, tender bulbs, and perennials. The summer garden will include some spring-planted flowers. Flowers planted in summer are likely to give a second and even third bloom if the […] More
Springtime is a season of bare earth as well as a season of flowers and abounding life. Whether it is an entire garden devoted to spring flowers that is being planned or just a small portion of the garden, spring bloomers can interrupt the sparseness of vegetation and a mix of color. Bulbs will usually […] More
Stonecrop, Sedum spectabile and Sedum maximum atropurpureum, are fleshy-leafed, succulent plants. They bear tiny, star-shaped flowers grouped together into flat-topped clusters. Leaves are oval, rubbery textured, usually with a blunt end/ Sedum spectabile is the most familiar of stonecrops. It produces large, flattened pink flower heads in late summer. Ovate gray-green leaves are borne on […] More
Scaevola–commonly called fan flower–produces fan-shaped blue, lilac, or white flowers in summer. Fan flower is an evergreen perennial, often grown as an annual, with toothed green leaves on trailing stems. Fan flowers are ideal for window boxes and baskets and in warm regions can be grown in a border. Scaevola is a genus of about […] More
Tree mallow, Lavatera, is a shrub-like semi-green perennial with rounded. Showy, five-petaled saucer- or funnel-shaped flowers resemble small hibiscus and come in shades of pink and white. Lavatera is a genus of 25 species–usually tall, branching fast-growing herbaceous annuals and several shrubby perennials. Annual tree mallow is colorful with mallow-like flowers and lobed, gray-green felted […] More
Lantana is a showy semi-tropical perennial or shrub that can also be grown as a potted plant indoors. Its multi-colored small but brilliant and profuse flowers make it a standout in a border or bed. Lantana resembles Verbena to which they are related. they are native to tropical America. Lantana cultivars are mostly ow, compact, […] More
Eremurus–commonly called foxtail lily–produces tall slim spirelike spikes of white, pink, or yellow blooms that look most dramatic when planted in groups. Flowers cover upper half stems to 8-feet tall. Eremurus belong to the lily family and like other lilies, it requires a cold winter to bloom. Blooms appear in very early spring and can […] More
Mexican heather–Cuphea hyssopifolia–is a small bushy perennial that bears short racemes of light pink-purple, pink, or white flowers atop downy stems covered with narrowly lance-shaped mid to dark green leave to 1-inch long. Mexican heather is a good choice for containers or the front of beds and borders. Cuphea hyssopifolia belongs to the Cuphea genus […] More
Brugmansia–commonly called angel’s trumpet–has dangling, exotic-looking trumpet-shaped night-scented blooms. It is a semi-tropical evergreen shrub or small tree with pink and yellow pastel blooms from late spring to fall. Angel’s trumpet must be protected from frost. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Brugmansia is related to the annual and perennial jimsonweeds, Datura. All have […] More
Syngonium, sometimes called arrowhead vine, is a tropical climbing or trailing vine with fleshy stems that grow to 6 feet (2m) or more tall. Lovely, arrow-shaped leaves may be green or variegated and from 3 to 12 inches long. Syngonium leaves change shape as the plant matures; young plants are solid and triangular, the leaves […] More
Stephen Albert