‘Fiesta del Sol’ is the first truly dwarf Mexican sunflower topping out at 2½’ instead of 5-6’ like other varieties. The plants thrive in heat and humidity, are drought tolerant,…
If you have been browsing zinnias lately you may have noticed the bicolor ones. ‘Starlight Rose’ has 2½” flowers with white petals surrounding a rose center that grows more intense.…
There are few flowers that can light up a their surroundings like nasturtiums can. Their intensely colored flowers in red, yellow and orange add zip to any garden border and…
When I stand next to my flowering Mexican sunflower plant I feel like Jack with his beanstalk. The plant towers over me and grew to such heights in just a…
I had never heard of pentas until I came to North Carolina a few years ago and now I hear about them, read about them and see them everywhere. They…
Globe amaranth is an annual in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae, that also includes Russian thistle, beet, and spinach. Native to Texas and Mexico, it grows 1-3′ tall, depending on the…
I first met this charming plant in a small nursery in Annapolis MD, run by a husband and wife who seemed to love plants. They had all sorts of annuals…
Love-lie-bleeding is a very special plant and not just because of its melodramatic name. It’s red flowers grow in rope-like tassels 12” long or longer all over the coarse leaved…
When you saw the genus name Impatiens you probably thought of the bedding impatient (Impatiens wallerianna) and it is not that one. This impatient is also called touch-me-not from its…
Also called pink queen and grandfather’s whiskers, this annual is a native of South America and a member of the Cleomaceae, a family closely related to the mustard family. The…
Karen