Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
Osteospermum is a real maverick among the compositae family. Usually, a border of sterile ray flowers - those of a marguerite, for example - attracts insects to the center of the flower with its tubular florets; these are fertile and develop the seed. In osteospermums, however, the tubular florets are sterile and the seed is formed in the fertile ray flowers. You can see this phenomenon yourself after the plants have flowered. The brownish-black seeds, which are very large and hard, develop into wreaths round the centers of the faded flowers. This characteristic distinguishes Osteospermum from Dimorphotheca, a genus dealt with elsewhere in this encyclopedia, with flowers that in other respects closely resemble those of Osteospermum.
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Sunday, May 25th, 2008
DELPHINIUM
The Clear Springs Series is derived from the popular Delphinium Pacific Giant Series but, at a height of 30-44 inches, it is considerably shorter. This is why they are sometimes referred to as Delphinium Dwarf Pacific varieties. These perennial delphiniums are cultivated as annual flowers for cutting. Seeds are planted - in greenhouses - between March and June. The seedlings are subsequently kept in the greenhouse or planted outdoors. The first flowers may be expected by mid-May. You could try it out for yourself. Sow the seeds near the surface and stand the propagator in a dark place during germination. Shelter the plants from the wind if you put them out-of-doors. Delphinium ‘Clear Springs Lavender’ bears lavender-blue flowers. The double, bright-white flowers of Delphinium ‘Clear Springs White’ are closely packed along the stems, which are often flattened at their tips. Because the stems remain shorter than those of larkspurs and are also very sturdy, the delphiniums in the ‘Clear Springs Series’ do not need supports in places sheltered from the wind.
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Saturday, May 10th, 2008
ANNUAL WORMWOOD
Do you ever feel you would like to see what a hedge would look like in a particular place in your garden? You might try it out with Artemisia annua. Sow some seed in situ in spring and six weeks later you will have plants about 5 ft tall. If they are planted side by side at intervals of about 20 in, it will look as if a hedge of conifers has grown up in less than no time. The numerous small flowers are totally inconspicuous. What is important is the light green of the widely branching plants. The greenery forms slended backdrop for summer flowering plants.
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Friday, March 7th, 2008
AUSTRALIAN PEA, HYACINTH BEAN
In tropical and subtropical regions, the Australian pea is a familiar vegetable and its large purple pods are processed into food for both humans and animals. We can grow the climbing bean as an ornamental plant because of its relatively small, but very lovely, purple or white flowers, and because its foliage is so beautiful. That of the cultivar Lablab purpureus ‘Ruby Moon’ is pale greyish green when it comes out, but turns deep purple as it ages. Sow the lablab indoors in March-April, or directly outdoors from mid-April. Find the warmest and sunniest spot possible for it and give it plenty of water, whether it is in a pot of nutritive soil or planted in the garden.
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Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
This perennial is so short-lived that some people regard it as an annual. It is also transitional between annuals and perennials in the way that it is treated, because barberae is far less fond of moisture than the other species. This is what makes it so suitable for cultivation in containers, where the soil is nearly always drier and better aerated than in the garden itself.
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Sunday, February 17th, 2008
PERSIAN VIOLET
Exacum affine is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Yemen. Its natural habitat is rocky areas. A small herbaceous biennial plant with dark green, ovate leaves. The small purple flowers have a yellow centre.
The Yemenite island of Socotra lies in the Indian Ocean. A warm and dry place, the island is a paradise for plants, including species that are not to be found anywhere else in the world. The Persian violet is one of them, although the plant is now on display in countless living-rooms. Danish companies are particularly active in marketing it on a vast scale. You will find Persian violets with their purplish-blue or white flowers at garden centers and florists between April and November. They are then about five months old.
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Sunday, February 10th, 2008
PRAIRIE GENTIAN
It is not so long ago that prairie gentians had sunk into oblivion, but then Japanese companies began to take a fresh interest in these formerly well-known plants. They developed long-stemmed flowers for cutting and low-growing potted plants. The variations in their natural flower colors (blue, pink, red, and white) were increased, and now they are also available in pale yellow, apricot, and lilac, often bicolored and sometimes “picotee” (with a narrow border).
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Sunday, January 20th, 2008
LION’S EAR
This South African plant starts flowering about three to four months after it was sown. It is better known as a container plant and may be kept in a cool and, if need be, dark place in winter to allow it to sprout again in spring after hard pruning. Firms specializing in plants propagated by seed or cuttings, market flowering plants intended for cultivation as annuals as early as June. Put the plant in a large pot on your patio and you will spend months imagining you are in the tropics. Provide leonotis with a sheltered, warm, and sunny position, and give it plenty of water and fertilizer to keep it flowering. The orange whorls of flowers develop from the bottom upwards on flower stems which may ultimately grow to 6 ft.
The genus Leonotis (Lion’s Ear or Lion’s-Tail) consists of about 30 species of plants in the family Lamiaceae. All but one species, Leonotis nepetifolia (native to both tropical Africa and southern India), are native to southern Africa.
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