Charming Flowers

With small, showy flowers on low-mounding to sprawling plants, diascia can be used interchangeably with alyssum, pansies, nemesia and other cool season annuals. The flowers of diascia come in a range of pinks, whites, corals, and oranges. During cool weather, the plants are covered in blossoms. With delicate, prolific blooms reminiscent of open-face snapdragon flowers, diascia is a colorful option for early spring…

Excellent for rockery & covering wasteland, plant loves poor soil. Nasturtium is an annual that you can grow for pretty foliage and pretty flowers, but it can also be eaten. Suitable for hanging baskets also. Flowers are yellow, orange, maroon, scarlet. The peppery-tasting leaves are sometimes used in salads. The brilliant yellow, orange, or red flowers are funnel-shaped and have a…

Clematis is known as the queen of climbers. Its vining stems will happily scramble up trellises, over arbors and through other plants, creating a tapestry of beautiful color. This carefree perennial blooms from early summer through fall, producing star-like blossoms that can be white, pink, red, blue or purple. Clematis are one of the most rewarding plants a gardener can grow. Once…

The plants are often cultivated outdoors in western North America and in colder regions in greenhouses. Bottlebrushes grow into big shrubs or small trees. Bottlebrush plants  get their name from the spikes of flowers that bloom at the ends of the stems, bearing a strong resemblance to a bottle brush. Grow them as shrubs or small trees that grow up to…

When growing bachelor buttons, take advantage of their indoor uses as cut or dried flowers. Once the flower is cut, it offers a long-lasting display in cut flower arrangements. This specimen was often worn in lapels of the courting gentleman of days past, hence the common name bachelor button. It’s a vigorous plant commonly found growing among the grain crops in…

The native species has pearly white flowers centered with steel-blue and encircled with a narrow, yellow band. The flowers are held well above the plant, which forms a compact mound. The leaves are handsome grayish-green that combines well with other colors in the garden. The African Daisy is a perennial with flowers that come in a variety of colors including red, gold,…

Kalanchoes are bright and vibrant flowering plants with gorgeous tiny flowers blooming all year round. They are extremely easy to plant and maintain, making them an excellent indoor plant attraction. Kalanchoes are succulents that grow best in a well-drained and well- aerated potting soil, such 60% peat moss and 40% perlite. Cut back tall growth and old flower stems. Keep well watered…

This bright green, grass-like plant gets its name from its resemblance to a fiber optic lamp—multiple stems with tiny flower spikes at the tips. This easy-to-grow plant grows upright when it is young, then spills gracefully over the edges of containers or garden walls as it matures. This bright green, grass-like plant has small flower spikes at the stem tips…

With common names like miracle plant, tree of kings, and Hawaiian good luck plant, it makes sense that Hawaiian Ti plants have become such popular accent plants for the home. These plants cannot tolerate temperatures below 50 F. (10 C.), so be careful not to place them where they may experience drafts from windows or doors. Cordyline fruticosa(Ti plant) is…

A fabulous plant from its foliage to its extravagant flowers. The silver-tinged leaves are very decorative even when plant is not in bloom. The exotic, two-color flowers are the source of the common name “fireworks”. The pink spikes with purple florets create an explosion of color guaranteed to brighten up any room.  Terrific for partly shaded locations such as porches,…

Oxalis are not only excellent houseplants because they come in a range of colors and sizes, but also because they are so prolific. They are, in fact, SO prolific that they are considered to be weeds to gardeners and greenhouse growers worldwide. Oxalis has shamrock-shaped leaves and is also commonly referred to as love plant and wood sorrel. The plant…

Given the right indoor environment, they will thrive and make for a wonderfully unique houseplant. Ferns come in a wide variety of colors and textures. The Bird’s Nest Fern has large simple fronds that are tropical-like in that they resemble banana leaves. These ferns have a slow growth rate. They're best planted in the spring, though houseplants generally can be…