Indian Pink or Arethusa Orchid
Will you not know the pink purple orchid when you chance upon it? Will you know how lucky you are if you do find one of these rare native American orchids?
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Growing Heirloom Grapevines
As we hear more and more about food shortages, droughts, and other catastrophic events that are currently hurting the pocket books of many people, not only in America, but all over the globe – hoards of gardeners are returning to the home garden for their family food needs - home grown heirloom grapes are one way the home gardener can fight back and win the food wars.
Read MorePink Lady Slipper and Native American Legends of the Ladyslipper (Cypripedeum Acaule)
One of America’s more rare and wonderful flowers is the Pink Ladyslipper. It is curiously both beautiful and at the same a whisper of a past we have lost when our continent was covered by plants of the deep, dark woods. This odd little plant is the substance of many varied legends held by native peoples.
Read MoreDesigning the Home Apple Orchard
Anyone wanting to have a home apple orchard can easily have one as long as you take into a few key considerations, like location, spacing of apple trees, varieties of apple trees, amending poor soil, and the pollination of apple trees. Since the average American
Read MoreUsing Cotton In The Garden and Butterfly Gardens
Cotton literally is a plant that surrounds us in our everyday life and while it is a huge commercial plant grown for the fiber to make clothing and other everyday articles, it is also a wonderful ornamental plant addition for any serious garden design. Cotton flowers are known butterfly attractors and for that reason alone they should be promoted as plants to include in any butterfly garden. They are also beneficial to bees, which as most of us know are in serious need of all the beneficial plants they can get.
Read MoreCrape Myrtle Cultivation for New Gardeners
One of the things that make crape myrtles attractive to gardeners is the fact that they are known to bloom the first year just from planting the seeds. They also grow readily from cuttings and that is usually the way they are cultivated. Young cuttings are simply set out in the fall and often bloom profusely the following summer.
Read MoreGrowing Cacti and Where To Plant Cactus
One fun element in garden design is to grow what doesn’t naturally grow in your region. That can be a challenge, but it can lend itself to more creativity. For example, while some succulents grow naturally in Florida, one of the design elements in our backyard garden is the cacti that we grow. As a native Californian, and someone who lived among cactus for a good part of my life, growing cacti was not my first choice. Yet, my husband was apparently completely captivated by the idea of growing them. So when he found that a neighbor had chopped down significant sized pieces of cactus, he “rescued” them from a trip to the local landfill.
Read MoreHam and Eggs In the Garden – Growing Lantana
One of my favorite perennial flowering plants is the Lantana. I like it because it is a no fuss stick it in the ground and only water it when it hasn’t rained in a while plant. Lantana is a member of the verbena plant family, verbenaceae. Originally it was native only to tropical regions in all the Americas and Africa but long introduced into other regions so people enjoy this little plant/shrub in many parts of the world.
Read MoreHow To Grow Love In A Mist - Nigella
Beautiful lacy bracts surrounding the smaller flower sport shades of blue, lavender, white, and pink – depending upon the variety give them their popularity. Other colors that show up with these annual flowers are mauve, and deep purple. They are a sought after, often heirloom favorite since Victorian days and before. Native to Southern Europe and popular in English cottage gardens since Elizabethan times they are a favorite for those who like to dry flowers and paint floral pictures.
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