Protea, is the name for a group of about 130 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees native to Africa. They grow to a height of 3 to 10 feet (0.9 to 3 meters). Proteas bear large flowers that may vary widely in size, shape, and color, depending on the species. The flower heads are […]

Bachelor’s button is a plant with small flowers shaped like buttons. Usually the flowers are blue, but some varieties have pink, purple, or white blossoms. The flowers measure 1 to 1 ± inches (2.4 to 3.7 centimeters) across. Bachelor’s-buttons are annual plants—that is, they live for only one year. The plant, which blooms from June […]

Phlox (floks). In Greek the name phlox means “flame.” The plant is so called from the red color of one species. The colors of others range from white and pink to purple. Many species of phlox are native to the United States. They are among the most abundant and showy of all wild flowers. One […]

Star of Bethlehem is a small, hardy plant that belongs to the lily family. It grew first in Italy, but now has become a common garden plant in America. Its flowers form the shape of a six-pointed star. The petal like parts are white but have green stripes on the outside. The leaves are green […]

Snapdragon, a favorite flower in gardens of Europe and North America. Millions are also grown in greenhouses for cut flowers. Most cultivated snapdragons belong to the species Antirrhinum majus, a native of the Mediterranean region. Antirrhinum means nose like and refers to the shape of the flower; majus means larger. More than 30 species have […]

HYDRANGEA. The cup-shaped fruits which follow the hydrangea’s showy blossoms look like little water pails. For this reason the shrub was named from the Greek words, hydro, meaning water, and angeion, meaning vessel. The hydrangea belongs to the saxifrage family. Many of the more than 30 varieties grow in Asia, but several are native to […]

Heath. The word heathen originally meant one who lived on the heath, a term commonly applied to uncultivated land covered with low shrubs. The name heath was given also to any plant growing on the heath, but it is used botanically only for the species of the heath family, the Ericaceae. Heaths, dunes, and moors […]

ARBUTUS. Indian legend tells a pretty story about that loveliest of spring flowers, the trailing arbutus. Each year when the winter spirit, Peboan, fell asleep, his discarded furs turned to icy leaves. Coming across these one spring day, Segun, the summer spirit put them in her hair. Immediately they came to life. Then Segun planted […]

Crocus, flowering plants that bloom in the spring or in the fall. They belong to the iris family. Their original home was in the warmer parts of Europe and Asia, but now they are grown in gardens in many lands. Crocuses grow from a solid bulblike stem called a corm. The corm is an underground […]

ARTICHOKE. Artichokes are vegetables that have a very delicate flavor. There are three different kinds of artichokes: the globe, the Jerusalem, and the Chinese or Japanese. The globe and the Jerusalem artichokes are members of the Composite family like the aster, daisy, and sunflower. The globe artichoke is also called the French or bur artichoke. […]

Through the ages, flowers have served as symbols and emblems. Many nations and countries have adopted flowers as their emblems. Thus, Ireland has its shamrock, France has its fleur de lis. Such national flowers are often associated with history, traditions or legends. The United States has no national flower, but each of its states and […]

ASTER is a flowering plant of the Compositae family. It is so common in the United States that it has been suggested as the national flower. More than 175 species grow in North America. The flower also grows in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. Toward the last of August and throughout September and […]

ANNUAL Plants that grow from seed, blossom, produce fruits and seeds, and die (root and all) within one year are called annuals. Only their seeds live on, to produce new plants in future years. Most annuals live their whole life during one spring-to-fall growing season. Some, called winter annuals, begin to grow in autumn, live […]

Narcissus. A large genus of flowers of the amaryllis family, native to Asia and Europe, is called narcissus. Included are the daffodil, the poet’s narcissus, the jonquil, and others. All the species produce bulbs, from which the long, narrow leaves arise. These usually appear with the blooms. The flowers are white to yellow, seldom green, […]