Plant Profile: Orange Sneezeweed (Helenium hoopseii)
Karen Also known as owl’s claws, this clump-forming perennial a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, yarrow and lettuce. It is native to western United States from…
Plant Profile: Sweet Scabiosa (Scabiosa atropurpurea)
Also known as mourningbride, and mournful widow, this annual is a member of the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, that also includes weigelia, Centranthus, and valerian. It is native to the Mediterranean…
Plant Profile: Maximilian Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliana)
Native to the Great Plains of central North America, this herbaceous perennial is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, yarrow, and lettuce. With a rhizomatous…
Book Review: Designing with Dried Flowers
Karen Meyers Designing with Dried Flowers, by Hannah Rose Rivers Muller, is based on the extensive experience of the author growing, harvesting, drying, and arranging flowers on her 400 acre, organic farm…
Book Review: The Fragrant Flower Garden
Stefani Bittner and Alethea Harrampolis combine their talents and experience in gardening and floral design in their book, The Fragrant Flower Garden. With an emphasis on eco-friendly methods, the authors…
Plant Profile: Longleaf Speedwell (Veronica longafolia aka Pseudolysimachion longifolium)
Also known as garden speedwell, this herbaceous perennial is native to Europe and Asia where it grows in grassy areas, meadows, steppes and woodland edges. It is a member of…
Plants for a Mary Garden: Larkspur (Consolida ajacis aka C. ambigua) “Mary’s Tears’
The name “Mary’s Tears” is derived from the resemblance of the droplet-shaped larkspur flowers to tears and is associated with the sorrow and compassion of Mary especially during the Passion…
Plant Profile: Indian Blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
Also called firewheel and sundance, this hairy annual is native to northern Mexico and southern and central US from Arizona east to Florida, and the Carolinas and north to Nebraska…
Plant Profile: Carolina Lupine (Thermopsis villosa aka T. caroliniana)
Native to the mountains of the Carolinas and Georgia, this clump-forming herbaceous perennial is known by many common names including Aaron’s rod, false lupine, blue ridge lupine, golden-banner, and bush…
Plant Profile: Blanket Flower (Gaillardia x grandiflora)
This hybrid short-lived perennial is the result of a cross between tall, perennial G. aristata and shorter, annual G. pulchella and is a vigorous, long blooming plant with a short…