A childhood favorite Buttercups are one of the most common wild flowers. Their abundant bright yellow flowers are hard to miss, inhabiting meadows, fields, by the roadside, in our gardens, swamps and bogs. It has yellow, shiny petals, and grows wild in many places. It is poisonous to eat for humans and cattle, but when dry the poison is not active.…
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…
Broom is a large, deciduous shrub, similar in appearance to gorse, but without the spines. This member of the pea family is common on heaths, in open woodlands and along hedgerows, and can also be found at the coast. Its bright yellow flowers appear in spring, from April to June, and smell of vanilla. Brooms can be deciduous or evergreen and…
Blooms of the bleeding heart plant (Dicentra spectabilis) appear in early spring adorning the garden with attention-getting, heart-shaped flowers borne on arching stems. Bleeding heart is deciduous plant. It discards leaves at the end of the summer. Bleeding heart develops pink, heart-shaped flowers (petals are white from the inside) with small, white, drop-like hanging part on the bottom side. Flowers are…
This perennial gets its name from its flowers. They appear on tall stalks, blooming from the top down rather than from the bottom up, similar to sparklers. Blazing star is a favorite nectar plant for butterflies like monarchs as well as many other pollinators. After the exuberant growth of spring and early summer, our gardens can slow down and sag a bit,…
Gaillardia, also known as blanket flower, is an easy to grow, short-lived perennial with richly colored, daisy-like flowers. These plants have a long blooming season, from summer until fall. Blanket flowers are an interesting and colorful addition to the flower bed or garden, offering long lasting blooms if deadheaded, a necessary part of the care of blanket flowers. A member of…
These plants are similar to daisies but have bright yellow-orange flowers with a black center. Growing as annuals or short-lived perennials, black-eyed Susans are native to prairies and open woodlands and are attractive to both birds and butterflies. Black-eyed Susans are native to North America and one of the most popular wildflowers grown. They tend to blanket open fields, often surprising…
Bergenia will grow a spike from 12 to 16 inches (30-41 cm.) tall, and the tiny, bell-shaped blooms will cover the spikes in pink, white or purple flowers. These flowers remain for a number of weeks, then begin to die off. Bergenia needs these leaves as food to survive through the winter, and many of them are evergreen. Bergenia is also…
Bellflowers will bloom heaviest in June and July but can delight you with flowers all the way into October in some areas. The primary characteristic is the upturned, open cup-shaped flowers in hues of pink and white but primarily lavender or light blue. The plants will spread over the seasons and the lower growing varieties make excellent ground cover. Most…