Yerba Mate Plant: Growth And Use – Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a tree cultivated in Paraguay, Brazil and northern Argentina. Yerba Mate grows in sandy fine-grained soils with good drainage. For people who live in areas without these conditions, yerba mate is grown as an indoor plant. Yerba Mates thrive in shade as well
Pernettya: Decorative Berries In Fall Garden Borders – Pernettya is a beautiful evergreen shrub that is remarkable in fall with its colorful and elegant berries. Few plants produce such a dramatic range of colored berries as pernettya and its hybrids. Set off by the small, glossy, evergreen leaves, the fruits vary from dark plum-red, through
Saponaria Plant – The common names of Saponaria (Soapwort, Bouncing Bet) are a guide to some of its properties. Stir a handful of cut leaves in a bowl of water and the lather produced reveals why it is called Soapwort. Leave a clump to grow undisturbed in the border for a few years and the
Lewisia: Beautiful Rockery Plant – Lewisia (Bitteroot, Cantelow’s; Shortsepal) in bloom is sure to please; yellows and reds predominate and so the flowers may be pink, peach or orange as well as white. The petals are frequently striped – a colorful display in your rock garden for early summer. Unfortunately, this American hardy perennial plant
Red Hot Poker Plant – Over the years Red Hot Poker plant (also known as Torch lily) has changed its latin name from Tritoma to Kniphofia, and the hybridists have also extended its color range. A word of caution – you can buy a Red Hot Poker and it may be all-red, yellow or even
Veronica Plant – Veronica Speedwell perennial flowers are a perfect, easy to grow and easy to care for flower. While there are over 500 different species of Veronicas that come in a variety of types and sizes, the Veronica Speedwell is an attractive perennial with long tubular spikes. Veronica’s beautiful flowers come in a variety
Venidium plant (Monarch of the Veldt, Cape Daisy) is in the aster family and it certainly deserves to be better known. The sunflower-like blooms are 4 in across and they are quite distinctive – at the base of each inner petal is a purple-black blotch, providing a rayed effect around the rim of the prominent
Leopard’s Bane: Planting And Care – If you want to fill a patch of your bed or border with large and yellow daisy-like flowers, Leopard’s bane (the genus Doronicum of family Asteraceae, also known as aconite, monkshood, or Devil’s helmet) is the one to select when you also want earliness — in many herbaceous borders it
Solomon’s Seal: Planting And Care – Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum) is a shade-loving plant which will thrive in the shadow of trees and shrubs in a mixed border or in the semi-wild garden. The oval leaves clasp the arching stems, providing a graceful and decorative effect even before the bell-like flowers appear in early summer. The
Scabiosa (Scabious) – Scabiosa is one of the best, easy-to-grow garden flowers that you can add to your garden. It does not produce an abundance of blooms at any one time, and yet it remains a favorite herbaceous border perennial. There are two basic reasons for its popularity – flowering begins in late June and
Create A Barrel Of Petunias – Most petunias are half-hardy perennials but they are best grown as annuals, as the plants tend to become leggy and less floriferous in their second year. In their first year, they flower continuously from early summer until fall, but as with most plants that flower for a very long
Elegant Companions Of Spring Plants – Only a handful of spring bulbs grow to a good size. They include Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum), which flowers in late spring and early summer and likes a shaded or semi-shaded site, and the crown imperials. Grown in three colors – yellow, orange, or deep red – the crown imperials
