A member of the Campanulaceae family that includes bellflower and lobelia, its common name derives from the puffy balloon-like buds that burst open into starry bell-like blossoms. In this article, you will learn how to grow and care for balloon flower in your landscape. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. What Are Balloon Flowers?...
Not only will the beautiful flowers catch your eye, they’ll attract and feed local populations of hummingbirds and butterflies as well. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. We’re going to discuss everything you need to know to grow and care for this scarlet wildflower. Here’s what we’ll cover: What Is Cardinal Flower? Cardinal flower is a short-lived herbaceous perennial known for its striking spires of red blooms, held on upright plants that reach four to six feet tall....
At 300,000 million years old, they were, indeed, among the dominant plant species when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. And as many as 15,000 species now call our planet home. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. But we know there are more than enough for you to choose from to include in both your landscape and inside your home, as these green beauties can make versatile additions to either place....
Mentha x piperita is a hybrid of watermint (M. aquatica) and spearmint (M. spicata). It’s sometimes called black or candy mint. Peppermint has a pungent, peppery bite with a cool aftertaste that sets it apart from other types of mint. It’s a flavor that almost all of us have tried in candies, desserts, or health care products at some point. If there was ever a plant that could make the blackest thumb turn green, it’s mint....
It’s the first plant that I could ever identify, and Acer rubrum was the first botanical name that I ever learned. It marked the beginning of my horticultural career, so writing a guide about it now… it’s all come full circle. And what a plant, truly! As an ornamental powerhouse, the red maple is easily one of my favorite plants. The shady foliage, amazing fall color, and unique seed pods all combine to make this a tree I love to see, whether it’s sitting out in nature or placed in somebody’s yard....
Added to the genus in 2017, this mint family plant looks much like lavender but smells like sage. That’s where its common name comes from! Well, the second part, at least… Native to the steppes and hills of central and southwestern Asia, Russian sage is a flowering herbaceous perennial that grows to just three or four feet tall. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
This is true in the botanical world, as well. Plants with a weeping form stand out from the upright clumps of greenery that we’re so used to seeing. The uniqueness of foliage not attempting to stretch up for sunlight is intriguing, to say the least. And the beloved Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, comes in weeping form! We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
I can’t help but wonder if the species epithet vomitoria is part of the reason why this plant isn’t far more popular than it is. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. With its petite flowers, beautiful foliage, and bright red berries, it has a lot to offer as an ornamental. And did I mention that it can also be made into a caffeinated tea similar to yerba mate?...
Pollen wafts on the warm winds while the sun beats down, a hummingbird flits by and the hyperactive beating of its wings buzzes through your ears; you feel it more than you hear it. Warm soil beneath your feet and calico cloud shapes in the sky above. If you’re like me, you’re probably in your bare feet with a beer in your hand. All that sounds pretty good, but nothing says (or tastes like) “summertime” like a berry patch in the backyard....
My siblings and I used the seed fluff to line the beds of the baby mice we found. But after doing a bit of research, I realized our mouse bed fluff was from the same plant I saw on almost every hike in the backcountry of British Columbia and Alberta. It seemed to exist everywhere, whether as a delicate flower adding a splash of white to a wildflower meadow’s kaleidoscope of colors, or a few fluffy seeds clinging to a dry stem on a windy ridge....
Heat tolerant, chill tolerant, drought tolerant, impervious to pests and disease, deer resistant — salvia takes a lickin’ and keeps on blooming beautifully. “Because of their durability, salvias are something that everybody should have,” says Skip Richter, a county extension agent with Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service. “Pick the right one for your area and it will be a durable plant.” We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
Okay, not really (the kiss part). The seeds germinated and the seedlings grew a few inches – and then died. Of course. Because chilly September came when they were still young, and then October hustled in with its first snowfall. I wised up after that waste of seeds and garden space. Since then, my maize-growing knowledge has expanded and every year I grow tall, fluttery-green stalks in my garden. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
Its Latin name reveals nautical origins, and in fact, it was originally found rambling along the salty shores of the Mediterranean. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. A close relative of the stock plant, Matthiola incana, this plant is also commonly called gillyflower. It is easily cultivated in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 9....
They demand diligence. Starting about 10 days after sowing, you’ll need to keep an eye on their progress if you’d like to pick some as microgreens. If you’re growing baby leaves or full-size, a couple of weeks later, you’ll need to start monitoring their progress frequently so you don’t accidentally allow them to get oversized and hot, tough, or bitter. Stamina helps, too. If you plant more than a couple, they’ll produce bushels of greens in a short period....
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Coming up, here are the main pests you’ll see while growing canna lilies, and how best to prevent and manage infestations: Luckily, all the pests that can affect your beloved plants are easy to spot with regular monitoring. Keep an eye on your canna lilies regularly from early spring to early fall so you can spot pests and act quickly....
This installation isn’t for everybody! It requires a good amount of work and can quickly become an expensive endeavor. But the results speak for themselves. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Our expert tutorial provides DIY instructions and all the tips you’ll need to do this installation at home, in your own yard....
And yet, I know that even experienced gardeners have times when their plants are nearing that all-important harvest date and the fruit is still hard and green. At any time in the growing season, but especially if a killing frost is bearing down, your stress increases by the minute. What’s a gardener to do? I’m going to help you out here, with several ways to encourage tomatoes to turn red on the vine....
Your best way to prevent this is to keep your plants healthy and grow them under the appropriate conditions, i.e., full sun and cool temperatures. Covering your seedlings with floating row covers will keep out pests and keep water containing pathogens from splashing onto your kale plants. However, there are times when your kale plants can come down with a disease. Several types of pathogens can cause the leaves of your kale plants to turn yellow and thin out....
Believe it or not this coveted tree crop has been cultivated from as early as 4,000 BC – and shows no sign of dropping out of fashion any time soon. In the same family as other firm favorites such as peaches, cherries, plums, and apricots, almonds provide a delicious, nutritious, and extremely versatile addition to any homestead or garden. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
While growing beefsteak tomatoes is similar to growing other types, there are a few things you need to know to be successful in cultivating the big, often ribbed version of America’s favorite vegetable. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. This article will cover all that and more! Here’s what we’ll talk about:...
