Celosia 
- A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Celosias belong to a family of more than 50 plants that are native to the tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, Africa and the Americas. The cultivars produce flowers that are either plume-like (Celosia Pampas Plume) or crested (the Cockscombs). They are believed to be related to Amaranths. The name Celosia comes…
Carnation
Carnation –Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Carnations, members of the Dianthus family, specifically Dianthus Caryophyllus, have been cultivated for at least 2000 years. It was the Athenians that named the flower Dianthos, from the Greek words dios (devine) and anthos (flower). Gillyflower, another name by which the plant is known, probably came from the French who called dianthus,…
Canterbury Bells
Canterbury Bells –Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Canterbury Bells belong to the Campanula family, a huge family of flowers (more than 300) that all share the common characteristic from which they derive their Latin name. Campanula comes from the Latin, meaning tower of bells. So many of the campanulas are desirable garden flowers, that this species has long…
Calendula
Calendula –Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions The Calendula, also known as Mary-Bud, Mary-Gold, Pot Marigold and Poor Man’s Saffron, is one of the oldest of all cultivated flowers. The plant was described in the Third Century, BC and was an important part of the gardens of 5th Century France. It has been under cultivation for six centuries. The…
Blue Lace Flower
Blue Lace Flower –Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Blue Lace Flowers are native to Australia and little is known about how this plant made its way to the New World. The plant’s Latin name is Trachymene Coerulea, but it is also identified by the Latin name Didiscus Coeruleus. Blue Lace Flower was probably carried to England and then…
Black Eyed Susan
Black Eyed Susan –Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Black Eyed Susans are indigenous to many sections of the United States. They were introduced into Europe soon after Columbus’s visits and were named by Linnaeus in 1753. Linnaeus gave them the Latin name Rudbeckia Hirta after his mentor Olaf Rudbeck and hirta meaning rough, hairy. The plant was known…
Bells of Ireland
Bells of Ireland –Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Bells of Ireland belong to a curious genus containing only 4 species of erect, branching plants that are indigenous to the Mediterranean and Northwest India. Their Latin name Molucella Lamiaceae is a reference to the Moluccas, the Spice Islands of Indonesia where they were mistakenly thought to have originated. The…
Balsam
Balsam –Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Balsams belong to an important family of plants which include the popular bedding plant, Impatiens. The plant is a native of Asia, but had been introduced into Europe by the mid-1500’s and was being grown in Great Britain by the late 1500’s. By the late 1700’s, they had been introduced into the…
Bachelor’s Button
Bachelor’s Button – Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Bachelor’s Buttons, also known as Cornflowers, are the bluest of all the flowers in the garden and blue is the rarest of the colors offered in nature. The plants are native to Europe and Asia. Tutankhamen, the Egyptian boy king, was buried with a wreath around his head of cornflowers,…
Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila)
Baby’s Breath –Â A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Gypsophila which is known in the US as Baby’s Breath and in Great Britain as Soapwort is a vigorous perennial which was originally native to Europe, Asia and Northern Africa. The plant was introduced into the United States in 1828 when many plants admired by the Victorian gardeners of Great Britain…