Jan 19
Caladiums can bring more color to a shady garden than many flowering plants. Instead of relying on blossoms, these tropical plants produce heart- or lance-shaped leaves splashed with combinations of white, pink, red, burgundy, chartreuse, and green. Some leaves are dramatically veined, others are speckled or mottled, and a few are so pale that they …
Jan 19
Butterfly bush is famous for producing long, fragrant flower clusters that can draw butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, and other nectar-seeking insects throughout summer. Few flowering shrubs create such a dramatic display so quickly, and established plants can produce new stems several feet long in a single growing season. That vigorous growth is both butterfly bush’s greatest …
Jan 19
Begonias are sometimes described as though they were one type of plant with one simple set of care instructions. In reality, the genus Begonia contains more than 2,000 species along with an enormous number of hybrids and cultivars, ranging from compact bedding plants to dramatic foliage houseplants and flowering tuberous varieties with blooms that rival …
Jan 19
Angelonia is one of the best flowering plants for the point in summer when many other annuals begin looking exhausted. Heat that causes cool-season snapdragons to decline only seems to encourage Angelonia, which continues producing upright spikes of purple, lavender, pink, blue, and white flowers through hot, humid weather. That toughness explains its common name: …
Jan 19
Allium Care: How to Grow Ornamental Alliums Ornamental alliums bring one of the most distinctive flower shapes to the garden. Their spherical clusters can look like purple fireworks suspended above a border, with dozens—or sometimes hundreds—of tiny star-shaped flowers forming a single globe at the top of a tall, leafless stem. The best-known ornamental alliums …
Jan 19
Astrantia is one of those flowers that becomes more interesting the closer you look. From a distance, its blooms appear as soft clusters of pink, white, burgundy, or greenish flowers floating above leafy clumps. Up close, each flower head reveals an intricate arrangement of tiny flowers surrounded by papery, star-shaped bracts. That distinctive appearance has …
Sep 03
Orchids have a reputation for being difficult houseplants, but that reputation is often undeserved. The problem is usually not that orchids are impossibly demanding. It is that they are cared for as though they were ordinary houseplants growing in ordinary potting soil. Many popular indoor orchids naturally grow with their roots exposed to air, attached …
Jul 16
Few flowers are as instantly recognizable as a daisy. A ring of colorful or white petals surrounding a contrasting center creates one of the simplest flower shapes in the garden, yet plants described as “daisies” are remarkably diverse. Some grow as hardy perennials that return for years. Others are tender perennials grown as annuals in …
Jun 10
Few flowering plants create the same effect as a fuchsia in full bloom. Their dangling flowers look almost like tiny lanterns or ballerinas, often combining deep purple, magenta, pink, red, white, and coral within a single bloom. Trailing varieties spill beautifully from hanging baskets, upright types fill patio containers with color, and hardy fuchsias can …
Jun 03
Wax begonias are among the most dependable flowering plants for beds, borders, containers, and partially shaded gardens. Their compact growth, glossy foliage, and almost continuous production of small pink, red, or white flowers make them useful from late spring until frost, often with remarkably little maintenance. They are also more versatile than their old-fashioned reputation …
