Charming Flowers

They thrive in almost any type of soil, will grow in sun or shade, and are rarely troubled by insect pests or disease. Daylilies are known for their toughness, but they also dazzle with their big, colorful flowers. Blooming starts in midsummer and continues into early fall, with new blossoms opening each day. The Daylily is not a true lily. So…

It is not the same as ornamental marigolds of the Tagetes genus grown in vegetable gardens. Calendula is native to Asia and southern Europe and has been traditionally used in Ayurvedic and Unani systems of medicine. Calendula blossoms form a neat ray of petals that gently unfold from a tight bud, opening up to radiate from the center as the…

Daffodils and other spring bulbs die back by midsummer. A classic early flower of spring, uses for daffodils extend well beyond providing cheerful color after the winter months. These pretty spring flowers can enrich your garden, improve pollination, and provide medical and health benefits. Daffodils, also known by their botanical name narcissus, are easy and reliable spring-flowering bulbs. They multiply…

Cuckooflower has a rosette of leaves at its base and an upright stem that bears the delicate, small, pale pink or mauve flowers. A sure sign that spring has arrived, the Cuckooflower blooms from April. Look out for its delicate, pale pink flowers in damp meadows and ditches, and on riverbanks. The Cuckoo Flower produces loose clusters of white flowers,…

When grown in gardens, Carnations grow to between 6 and 8.5 cm in diameter. Petals on Carnations are generally clawed or serrated. Carnations are bisexual flowers and bloom simply or in a branched or forked cluster. The stamens on Carnations can occur in one or two whorls, in equal number or twice the number of the petals. The Carnation leaves…

Forsythia plants are deciduous shrubs. In some species the yellow four-petaled flowers, borne along the stems, appear before the leaves in early spring. The simple narrow leaves occasionally have three parts and are borne oppositely along the pithy or hollow stems. The fruit is usually a capsule. A true sign of spring, forsythia is one of the first shrubs to bloom, providing a burst of color when…

. The secret of lady’s slipper’s undeniable attraction is its fragrance, which is partly the same as burrowing bees’ pheromones. Apart from the fact that the flower secretes this itself, the soft hair covering the sack releases the scent of the insect that is trying to leave. Lady’s slipper has locally adapted to the pollinators in its different habitats, which…

Monstera deliciosa likes moderate indoor temperatures of 60 to 85 degrees. It prefers high humidity, but it will adapt fine to dry indoor conditions. If you really feel like nurturing it, you can mist it occasionally to boost humidity—but it’s not entirely necessary. The Swiss cheese plant displays the most interesting looking leaves and needs a grower to be prepared to provide…

Rubber Plants serve as great decorative plants indoors and add a lot of aesthetic value to your home. Growing them is not as difficult as it seems. Though they can grow into full length trees if kept in your gardens, they are easy to tend to indoors as well. Rubber plant is an evergreen tropical plant that can grow up…

They grow fairly slowly from thick canes or stems that produce long, narrow leaves like stalks of corn, growing upward. This growth habit also makes them look a lot like palm trees, which is why they’re sometimes called “false palms.” They make good houseplants because they are tall and narrow, typically only reaching around 4 to 6 feet tall in…

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…

Prayer plants make an amazing addition to your collection of indoor houseplants. They have dark green leaves with light green/white and red strip running down its spine. This plant gets its unique name because of the unique nature of its leaves. They fold in an upright position at night, resembling that of folding hands in prayer. The Red Prayer Plant…