Projo Garden Blog

All the things you may not have known about Chrysanthemum!

Chrysanthemums are the most popular plants sold between August and November.

11.6.09

Chrysanthemums or the hardy mums contribute to varieties of colors in the garden more than any other flowering plants in the fall.

10.14.08

Chrysanthemum is a name of genus in Asteraceae family, which has about 30 species, many hybrids and thousands of cultivars.

According to the National Chrysanthemum Society (NCS), "the chrysanthemum bloom which appears as a single flower is actually hundreds of flowers called florets. Two kinds of florets are present in a single bloom, disk florets and ray florets. On a daisy type chrysanthemum the outer parts are ray florets and the center or eye is composed of disk florets". The bloom forms are classified into 13 classes.

10.30.08

The NCS was incorporated in 1954, claiming memberships in almost every state with local chapters (no R.I. chapter yet). They also hold an annual convention and show around mid-October or early November (the last one, the 66th , was held in Ashville, N.C. Oct. 15-18, 2009).

Chrysanthemum is November birth flower.

In the meaning of flowers, chrysanthemum symbolizes optimism and happiness.

Chrysanthemum was recognized as the official flower of the city of Chicago in 1961.

Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a flowering herb in the 15th century BC, according to wikipedia, and later introduced into Japan where the Emperor adopted the flower as his official seal. There is a 'Festival of Happiness' held in Japan to celebrate the flowers.

The name Chrysanthemum was given by Linnaeus, from Greek words (chrysos = gold and anthemon = flower)

The chrysanthemum was used as a powerful antibiotic and antiseptic in traditional
Chinese medicines to treat angina and high blood pressure.

In Feng Shui, chrysanthemum brings laughter and happiness to the home.

Chrysanthemum plants have been shown to reduce indoor air pollution by the NASA Clean Air Study.

Chrysanthemum is the title of the classic short story, by John Steinbeck (1902 - 1968).. which included these passages...

"They'll grow fast and tall. Now remember this. In July tell her to cut them down, about eight inches from the ground."
"Before they bloom?" he asked.

"Yes, before they bloom." Her face was tight with eagerness. "They'll grow right up again. About the last of September the buds will start."

10.2.02

There are several chrysanthemum plants in my sunny front garden. The biggest one is by my front steps. Pinching the tips of the new growth made the plant full and bushy with more buds. Most of them have yet to fully bloom. This year it has grown to more than 4 feet in diameter. There are countless buds on them and I hope the blooming will continue for a few more weeks.

11.6.09

Gaillardia, Blanket flower

Gaillardia is in the same family as daisies and sunflowers (Asteraceae). It was named after M.Gaillard de Charentonneau, an 18th-century French magistrate.

I do not always have gaillardias in my garden every single year.

However this past spring I planted a few of them, both single and bi-color. I have enjoyed the blooms all through the summer and now the plants look even healthier with bigger flowers and many more buds yet to bloom.

Gaillardia flowers are very attractive with red, vibrant, ray petals. Blooming period is listed as May to September. Yet my blanket flowers continue to bloom well into November.

Like most flowering plants, they like full sun and occasional watering, although they are known to be drought tolerant. I usually add liquid fertilizer every 4 -6 weeks.

Gaillardia makes lovely fresh cut flowers.

Aster, the flower for fall

Aster, a flowering perennial in the Asteraceae family, is very hardy and almost care-free.

10.30.09

I have had mine in the front garden for many years and I can count on them to come back every year.

9.22.06

The flowers bloom in clusters, surrounded by small dark green leaves. I can always find several bees around the tall bush on any sunny fall day.

Aster prefers full sun and moist, well-drained soil. The blooming period is from August into fall, when most colorful summer flowers are fading away.

10.25.09

Aster comes from a Greek word meaning star, named for the shape of the flower head.

9.19.08

Aster is September birth flower.

According to the meaning of flowers, aster symbolizes love and daintiness.

Zinnia doesn't get enough attention

Zinnia is a genus of flowering plants named after a German botanist and physicist, Jahann Zinn (1727 -1759), and referred by Julia Brittain in The Plant Lover's Companion as "flamboyant Mexican flowers"; yet this beautiful flower has never received enough attention and respect!

Zinnia has also received the honor as Plant of the Year 2000 by the National Garden Bureau; yet most people tend to overlook zinnia, in comparison to let's say -- roses, tulips, dahlias or chrysanthemums.

I truly feel indebted to zinnia for adding colors and brightening my garden year after year. I cannot imagine a summer without zinnias. I prefer to start mine from small plants as I tend to have problems with seed-starting. They like full sun and occasional fertilization. The blooming period is all through the summer into early fall. I still have a few left but the flowers are getting smaller since the weather has turned quite cold in the past few weeks.

Zinnia is in the family Asteraceae. You can find many shades of red, pink, green, yellow, gold, orange; but never in blue. Once in a while I have been lucky enough to find the ones with bi-colors.

I have spent hours watching bees tip-toeing on the flowers, butterflies flittering from one flower to the next and even watching the praying mantis munching on the pollen. Thanks to zinnia, I get to observe these interesting creatures as I admire the unique beauty and richness of zinnia. One added bonus when compared with tulips, I do not have to worry about the squirrels disturbing or destroying the blooms.

According to the language of flowers, zinnia symbolizes "thoughts of absent friends."

My towering celosia

Celosia, a tender annual, is supposed to be about 1 to 3 feet tall.

8/05

The celosia in my yard is way beyond 6 feet already... and this is the third generation of celosia from the single plant I purchased at my first visit to the spring annual Southside Land Trust plant sale back in May 2007.

10.25.09

Celosia is grown in tropical Asia and parts of the world where the climate is warm. I have had them off and on over the years and most of them have their blooming period during the summer. However this very tall species is still thriving in the cold weather.

9/08

There are two types of celosia - one resembles a cock's comb, called cockscomb or woolflowers because of the wooly flower heads, and the other one is like a feather plume -- soft and fluffy.

I don't have much luck with cockscombs, but my feather ones are just beautiful -- tall, strong, healthy-looking and they keep on producing multiple offspring every year.

Late last fall a woman stopped the car in front of my yard to ask, "What's the name of that tree? Yes, my celosia looks more like a tree than a flowering plant. The main stem is at least 1½ inches in diameter at the base.

I usually bring some celosia indoors to enjoy them as cut flowers. They can also be dried to use in floral arrangements.

10.25.09

Celosia attracts bees. I left some flowers untouched to dry up and to become a precursor for the next generation celosia.

Celosia belongs in the Amaranthaceae family.

Blue-eyed daisy (osteospermum)

Osteospemum belongs in the Asteraceae family, which includes the sunflowers (helianthus) and blanket flowers (gaillardia). They have been part of my annual flower garden for many years. The daisy-like flowers have disc florets and ray florets.

The beautiful blueness on the disc of the flower head is prettiest on the purple flowers.

They are native of Africa and also know as African daisy.

In the early years, I had osteospermum in yellow and orange.

This year I put one in the ground quite early -- back in April. I planted a second one which I received on Mother's Day nearby. Both are doing well, blooming throughout the summer and are likely to continue on into November. These two also appeared to be enjoying the cold weather and the rain.

The light purple and deep purple flowers have become more popular in the past few years. Last fall I tried to keep one going indoors, but it died. Osteospermum needs a lot of sun, plenty of water and rich soil.

They also attract bees and small insects.

I'm now facing with a little dilemma - should I bring one or both indoors?

Osteospermum is considered a hardy plant, but not tough enough to withstand winter in the northeast. Perhaps I'll try again and if they don't survive, at least I'll get a chance to see the blue-eyed daisies a little longer.

My beautiful, my beautiful balloon

"Up, up and away... would you like to ride in my beautiful, my beautiful balloon..." the lyric from the Fifth Dimension's hit by Jimmy Webb came to mind almost every time I look at the blue balloon flowers before they open up.

I am always amazed to learn that a great number of people never saw the balloons and only made a cursory glance at those blue flowers after they are opened as star-shaped, bell-like flowers.

Balloon flower, Platycodon grandiflorus, in the family Campanulaceae is considered to be one of the easiest perennials to grow because it requires no special care.

8.5.03

Mine has to be one of the oldest perennial flowering plants in my garden. It has grown to at least 3 feet. I usually try to deadhead the flowers and trim down the tall flowering stems. I get second blooming in September and October.

There are a few more buds left on the plant at the corner of my front garden. I'll get to watch the balloons a little while longer before having to say goodbye to my last beautiful balloon of the year.

10.8.09

Japanese Anemone, the best fall flower?

I was surprised to read the following, "To say that the Japanese Anemone is one of the best fall flowers would be an understatement -- it is the best. Here is a plant and flower with real charm, refinement, and sophistication" on this website. ( I think most of us consider Chrysanthemum in all bright colors as the highlight flowers for the fall.)

I have always admired the Japanese anemone and tried to have them in my garden. I lost quite a few as they did not survive the winters, including this one with white flowers.

There is still one left that was planted 5 years ago with pale pink flowers; it has been getting bigger and taller and producing more flowers each year with a long blooming period from summer into late October.

8.27.05

This anemone is thriving in a partial sun in my backyard, surrounded by the thick groundcover, ajuga, which apparently helps protecting it during the cold winter. It has grown to about 3 feet.

10.8.09

Being in the backyard, it did not receive fertilization as often as the flowering plants in the front. Yet the blooms have been abundant with good size flowers. I'll remember to be more attentive to it next year.

10.8.09

Anemone belongs in the family Ranunculaceae. The meaning of anemone flower is forsaken or dying hope.

Aconitum, Monkshood

Aconitum, in the family of Ranuncalaceae, has about 120 species.

9.17.08

The common monkshood, also known as wolfsbane, devil's helmet or blue rocket, has been in my garden since last September.

10.6.08

I could not remember how many I planted and totally forgot that they were perennial. Now I have 6 or 8 of them. They have only started blooming around mid-September. The blooming period should last well into October as there are still many buds yet to open.

9.27.09

While I have enjoyed all the flowers that are easily recognized, I never hesitate to try something new and have such a pleasure introducing them to my neighbors and friends. However with Aconitum, I have to add that it was highly toxic, although it is also known to have homeopathic properties as anti-inflammatory agent.

Aconitum (wolfsbane) could be found in many literature - from James Joyce's Ulysses to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban ( see Wikipedia ).

Monkshood flowers resemble delphiniums in their color and the lightness/texture of the petals. The flower has one of the 5 petals larger than other petals that looks like a helmet; hence the name monkshood.

10.6.09

Aconitum prefers full sun and rich, well-drained soil.

The most colorful herb in the garden, Calendula

Calendula, (pot marigold) receives a distinction of being the most colorful herb in the garden and also 2008 herb of the year by the International Herb Association.

It belongs in the daisy family (Asteraceae), genus calendula, which has about 20 species. It is different from the common marigold which belongs in the genus tagetes.

I have had the common marigold for many years, but was only introduced to calendula a few years ago.

Calendula flowers come in orange and yellow...

...some with beautiful florets.

Calendula does not have the strong scent of tagetes. It is known to have medicinal properties. The blossoms are edible and widely used in cooking, added to salad, soup, cream cheese, etc. for color and mild peppery flavor.

Calendula prefers full sun and cool temperature.

10.1.09

With the temperature getting cooler, my calendula has re-bloomed.

10.1.09

The whirling butterfly, Gaura lindheimeri 'Siskiyou Pink'

"I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free." ... Charles Dickens.

I love butterflies --

10.2.02

and all things 'butterfly-related'.

The whirling butterfly flowers are smaller than the smallest of butterflies seen in my garden, but they are just as fascinating to look at.

10.2.05

I have had both the white and pink ones before, but they do not always survive the winters in our zone and new replacement is required every few years. The last one was added in early summer and has been blooming all summer long.

7.5.06

I particularly love the 'Siskiyou Pink' Gaura lindheimeri which started out as maroon buds and open as pink flowers. The plant is airy with small, green leaves on long spikes that move with the breeze and often fall to the ground.

9.28.09

It prefers full sun, well-drained soil and is drought tolerant. The blooming period is from early summer to the first hard frost.

It makes lovely fresh-cut flowers for any arrangements.

9.27.09

'Siskiyou Pink' gaura was introduced in 1994 by Baldassare Mineo of the Siskiyou Rare Plant Nursery in Oregon.

Gaura is in the Onagracea family, the same as the evening primroses and fuchsias.

Gladiolus -- easy, abundant

"Strength of character, sincerity, generosity, natural grace" are the meanings of gladiolus.

Gladiolus (plural is gladioli, gladioluses or sometime gladiolas, according to Wikipedia) belongs in the iris family (Iridaceae), with more than 250 species in the genus.

Gladiolus is one of the most used and most admired cut flowers. I grow them mostly for that reason.

8.1.08

My glads last year were so beautiful and abundant, with seemingly unlimited supplies, that I gave many to friends and neighbors. The corms from last year's crop were saved, stored away and planted earlier this summer.

8.13.08

This year I have enough gladiolus to bring indoors to enjoy, but no comparison to last year. I think I should get new corms each year for better results.

Gladiolus comes from a Latin word, gladius, meaning sword, from the leaf's shape.

There are many gladiolus hybrids that come in a rainbow of colors and mixed colors. The corms should be planted around May and planted in succession, a week or so apart, in order to prolong the flowering period. They require no special care, except for adequate watering.

Gladiolus is August's birth flower and the 40th wedding anniversary flower.

Burnet, sanguisorba

The first time I saw burnet at the local nursery -- three years ago, I just knew that I
had to have it.

My burnet is alive and well, getting taller each year at the same spot in my front garden.

8.20.08

I had never heard of burnet before and did not even know how to spell or pronounce its botanical name. I was just intrigued by the strange-looking flowers in maroon color -- about the size of little fingers -- and pretty green foliage. The plant was less than 2 ft. tall then and I thought it should be planted among low-growing flowering plants and groundcovers in the front garden. It has now grown to more than 5 feet.

9.21.09

Burnet was described by Better Homes and Gardens as "Airy and unusual-looking, the slender bottlebrush flowers of burnet make a graceful change of pace in beds and borders. The tiny flowers lack petals but have prominent stamens; they crowd into dense spikes that are good as cut flowers..."

9.24.09

Todd Boland wrote about the charm of burnet in January 2009 .. " While not the showiest flower, burnet does have a certain charm and elegance. If you have a damp site, then these plants are ideal for use as a garden ornamental. Some even have edible leaves for soups and salads. They are highly sought by floral arrangers. Let me introduce you to Sanguisorba, the burnets!"

Burnet belongs in the Rose family (Rosaceae). Blooming period is from late spring to early fall.

Autumn crocus or 'naked ladies'

Autumn will arrive at 5.18 pm today, but my autumn crocuses ( plural also crocus or croci ) made their entrance more than 2 weeks ago.

Some years they bloom a few weeks later.

10.8.08

They are called naked ladies because they have no leaves accompanying them.

10.15.06

The leaves will appear after the flowering, unlike the spring crocus (genus crocus, family Iridaceae).

10.19.06

Autumn crocus belongs in the genus colchicum, family Colchicaceae. There are about 60 species of perennial plants that grow from corms (underground, swollen plant stem - served as storage organ to survive winter, drought, heat, etc.).

I planted several corms many years ago when only the light purple flowers were available.

Now you can purchase the corms, referred to as bulbs, for yellow, pink and white flowers.

They also attract lots of bees.

9.15.09

Autumn crocus must be planted in autumn for the following year's flowering... which means I should place my order right after I finish this blog entry, if I want to see how the yellow, pink and white autumn crocus will look in my garden this time next year.

Climbing sweet peas

Sweet pea is not edible, even though the pea pod looks similar to regular pea pods.

7.29.08

It is an ornamental, climbing annual plant with fragrant, delicate-looking flowers.

7.15.08

This year the sweet peas in my front garden were started from seeds in early spring, unlike previous years when they were started as small plants. They have grown very tall, around 3 - 5 feet and need stakes for support. The curly tendrils support the plant and twine around the stakes, which help the plants in the climbing process.

9.20.09

Sweet pea flowers come in many colors except yellow, with a long blooming period.

7.11.05

They also make lovely cut flowers.

Sweet pea belongs in the genus lathyrus and family Fabaceae, native of eastern Mediterranean region.

According to the meaning of flowers, sweet pea signifies "Good-bye, Departure, Blissful Pleasure, Thank You for a LovelyTime."