Archive for April, 2008
Tuesday, April 15th, 2008
GARDEN LOBELIA
The ancestor of our garden lobelias was a South African plant about 10 in tall, but nurserymen nowadays would be mortified if their labours produced a plant that high. In fact, this rarely happens, since lobelias grown for gardens are very compact or have a trailing habit. The first group is referred to as compacta or ‘Compacta,’ but more precisely as the Lobelia erinus Compacta Group. The plants have a compact upright habit and form green tufts 4-6 in high. They are highly suitable for flower-beds, containers, and edging purposes, but may also be planted in the center of a hanging basket.
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Sunday, April 6th, 2008
STOCK
From April onwards, florists’ bouquets often include stocks. They enchant us with the soft colors of the double flowers, but, above all, with their intensely sweet scent. It has an almost stupefying effect and some people think it is excessively strong. The stems of the varieties grown for cutting are often about 28 in long. Containers full of stocks are also marketed in spring, and are meant for planting out in flower-beds in the garden.
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Saturday, April 5th, 2008
PIMPERNEL
Anagallis monelli (Blue Pimpernel) is a species of pimpernel, native to the Mediterranean region. It is not to be confused with A. arvensis ssp. foemina (syn. A. foemina), which has very similar blue flowers, but broader leaves and can can be found also in colder climates.
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Friday, April 4th, 2008
This magnificent plant has not been on the market for long, but it faces a golden future. Everyone who sees it is enchanted. It has orange flowers, which would normally stand in the way of its popularity. This orange, however, is so soft a shade, with such a strong tinge of brick red, that the color goes particularly well with many other plants. The greyish-green foliage enhances this effect. The plant grows about 24 in tall and flowers long and very profusely from midsummer until well into October.
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Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
WILD CANDYTUFT
Iberis amara, a small annual with a honey-sweet fragrance, grows in loose, calcareous soil in Europe. Its flowers are sometimes pale lilac or soft pink in color, but usually white. The stems grow to about 12 in high. The wild species, a familiar weed, particularly in the fields of southern Euope, was improved until it became a garden plant. It now wafts its fragrance along garden paths and across flower-beds and patio containers.
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