Rose of Sharon, also called Althaea, is a large hibiscus shrub with lovely rose, purple, white, or blue flowers about 3 inches (8 centimeters) wide. The flowers bloom from midsummer to early fall. The rose of Sharon grows about 12 feet (3.7 meters) high and has large, three-lobed leaves. It is hardy and does well under unfavorable conditions either in the city or in the country. It is native to Eastern Asia and grows in many North American gardens. Gardeners have developed several forms of the shrub. The rose of Sharon may be grown in pots and later transplanted outdoors.

Scientific classification. The rose of Sharon is in the mallow family, Malvaceae. Its scientific name is Hibiscus syriacus.

Mint is the name of a large family of plants that grow mostly in temperate regions. There are about 3,500 species of mints. Many are highly fragrant. Their leaves are dotted with small glands that contain aromatic oils. The oils are released when the leaves are crushed.

The leaves of all mint plants grow in pairs on opposite sides of the stem, which in most species is distinctly square. Most mint plants have small, white, bluish, or pinkish flowers. In some species, such as lavender and permint, the flowers grow on spikes at the end of the stem. Mint plants usually bear small, roundish fruit that divides into four nut lets when mature.

Mint plants are particularly abundant in the countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. Both the leaves and the oil of mints are used as herbs for flavoring in cooking. The leaves may be used either fresh or dried. Popular cooking mints include marjoram, rosemary, and sage. Such mints as white horehound and peppermint add a cool, sharp flavor to candies. Mints also are used in some medicines and perfumes.

Catkin is a tassel like flower cluster that consists of numerous small flowers arranged around a long central axis. Each flower lacks the colored petals that are typical of most familiar wild flowers. For this reason, the grayish- or yellowish-green catkins are rarely thought of as flowers. Each catkin is either staminate (male, producing pollen) or pistil late (female, producing seeds). The wind pollinates the female catkins. The most familiar catkin is the pussy willow. Catkins appear on the branches of willows, alders, and poplars long before other spring flowers appear. Most catkins are long and drooping. They are also called aments.

Wildflowers are plants that grow without any care from a man. Some wildflowers are just as beautiful as garden flowers or hothouse flowers.

Many types of wildflowers are very hard to grow and sometimes it is impossible to grow them in gardens. The flowers that grow in the woods need acid soil. Most of them are shade-loving wildflowers. Some can only grow in soil made of rotted oak leaves, or pine needles, or a very special material.

For example, Indian pipes (Monotropa uniflora) need a certain kind of fungus in the soil. The soil also must consist of rotted plant material because these white wildflowers have no chlorophyll (green coloring matter) in their stalks and no leaves so they cannot make their own food. Some of the other wild plants need a long time to grow from seeds to the blooming stage. An example is the dogtooth violet or trout lily, which takes seven years to grow big enough to bloom. Few gardeners want to wait that long. Fringed gentian seeds must fall in an exact place to grow or they die very quickly.

Growing wildflowers indoors

Many other types of wildflowers are rather beautiful for growing indoors, but in garden conditions, they may bloom only one day or grow too small. However, in the woods, meadows or fields, they are big and bloom for a long time and can bring much more pleasure than in garden conditions.

Other types of wildflowers grow in gardens very well. The many varieties of bright wild peas and beans that bloom on southern wastelands and meadows grow so fast that they can quickly choke out garden flowers. Goldenrod and wild asters grow over most of North America and Canada in fields, woods, and roadsides. They are so common roadside flowers that few people would like to plant them.

Of course, some kinds of wildflowers are planted in gardens. All garden flowers were once wild. The poinsettia is a wild plant of tropical Mexico and Central America. Geraniums grow wild in South Africa. It is interesting to find the wild ancestors of cultivated plants.

Some kinds of wildflowers that are wild in one part of North America are planted in homes and gardens in other parts. Lupines grow wild in the west but sometimes they are cultivated in eastern gardens. Meadows and fields of wild California poppies brighten the western countryside. In the east, California poppies may be carefully planted in gardens.

Enjoying most beautiful wildflowers

The beautiful lovely plants that bloom in early spring in the woods often give more pleasure than any cultivated plant. For example, the cacti that grow in the southwest United States, and the marsh marigolds (cowslips) that grow in wet places from the Carolina to the Arctic. They add bright spots of color in the deserts and marshes.

Perhaps the best way to enjoy wildflowers is to learn to know where they usually grow. Finding a patch of bloodroot, arbutus or hepatica in wood can give a lot of pleasure. Finding some of the wild orchids like pink lady’s slipper or the showy orchids of the spring is like finding a hidden treasure.

Sometimes when people find these flowers they feel that they must pick them and take them home with them. Usually, this is selfish and often against the law. The petals of the bloodroot drop as soon as the flower is picked. Most woodland flowers wilt when they are carried in warm hands. Hepatica, spring beauty and many others are too small to make good bouquet even if they do not wilt. Picking the flower also keeps the plant from making seeds and new plants and other people won’t be able to enjoy them.

Passionflower (pash’un flou’er) is a plant of the family Passifloraceae. There are more than 400 species of passionflowers. They grow in the warmest southern and western areas of the United States and in tropical areas of South America, Asia, Australia, and other parts of the world. The passionflower is a climbing or trailing vine. It was given its name by early explorers who saw in it a symbol of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The three pistils, at the center of the blossom, represent the nails used on the cross. The five stamens represent Christ’s five wounds. The ten sepals and petals represent the faithful disciples, with Judas and Peter missing. The beautiful fringed corona represents the crown of thorns.

In spite of the sacred tradition built around the passionflower, it is better known in its native regions by its common name of maypop. The flowers are generally purplish-white. A large scarlet-flowered variety is grown as an ornamental vine. There is also a yellow one.

The fruit of some passionflowers is the size of a small apple and is edible. One kind of passionflower is raised commercially in southern California. A refreshing drink is made from the pulp and juice of its fruit.

Bugbane is a tall, perennial plant with large, broad leaves divided into many leaflets. It has clusters of small white flowers. Bugbanes live throughout the north temperate regions of the earth. The name originally referred to a kind of bugbane that grows in Asia and eastern Europe. It has an unpleasant odor, and people thought it would keep bed bugs away.

Scientific classification. Bugbane belongs to the crowfoot family, Ranunculaceae. It makes up the genus Cimicifuga. The bugbane is a tall plant with large, broad leaves. This perennial plant grows clusters of small white flowers.

Poinsettia (poinset’ia) is one of the most popular plants for the Christmas season. It grown for its great clusters of bright scarlet leaves at the ends of long stems. The small inconspicuous flowers occur at the center of this mass of leaves. The brightly colored leaves are often referred to as the flowers. The foliage leaves are deeply lobed and bright, waxy green. In the northern United States very large quantities of poinsettia are grown in greenhouses. In the southern portion, including Florida and southern California, the plant lives out-of-doors as a perennial. There it may become a shrub up to 15 feet or more in height. Usually the large stems are cut back, often to the ground, every year or two. New shoots are then produced and later bloom profusely. In the greenhouse the plants are propagated from cuttings. If these are made as early as May, the plants grow large and tall by Christmas time. If propagated as late as August, or even September, the plants will bloom but are much shorter. The short plants are excellent for growing in pots.

Sweet pea. In 1699 a monk found some butterfly-shaped flowers growing wild in the fields of Sicily. He sent a handful of their seeds to a doctor in England. From the offspring of these seeds have been selected the several hundred varieties of sweet peas which are today the daintiest of garden flowers. The sweet pea belongs to the same family as the edible pea. The original flowers were purplish blue in color. Gardeners soon began to select new colors and larger flowers than were found in the wild plant. In the United States interest in sweet peas did not begin until the 1890′s. Today, however, thousands of acres in California alone are devoted entirely to growing sweet peas.

The sweet pea vine has rough, winged stems. The thin, pale green leaves bear tendrils which help to support the plant in climbing. There are two general types of sweet peas; the tall and the dwarf. The fragrant blossoms of each type vary in form from single to hooded double. In texture they vary from smooth and velvety to wavy and crinkled. The colors range from white through all the pastel tints, to blue, red, and purple.

The seeds should be sown in early spring in cool climates or in the fall in warm climates. The soil should be fairly rich and well drained. The bed should be in a rather shady spot. It is important to choose a place where the roots of trees will not rob the soil of richness. The seeds should be planted about six inches apart. They should be covered with about one inch of soil. As the plants come up the earth should be rounded up toward the vines to form a low ridge. Trellises or strings are needed to support the vines. Throughout the season the plants should be cultivated and watered. The blossoms should be picked daily, as flowering stops as soon as seeds are allowed to form. Most abundant flowering occurs when the weather is cool.

Trillium is any of several species of flowering plants of the lily family, Liliaceae.

The plant’s name comes from the Latin word for three. The blossoms of trilliums have three petals, three sepals’ six stamens, a three-celled ovary, and a cluster of thee leaves. A solitary flower blooms above the cluster of leaves. Trilliums are woodland plants native to North America and Asia. They grow in damp, shaded areas. About 30 different species are known. Some bloom in early spring before the robins come. Thus the name wake-robin is given to them.

One of the species of trillium with large flowers is the great white trillium or trinity lily. Its blossoms have broad petals, each two or three inches long, and a pleasant scent. Days after blooming, the flowers change from white to pink. The so called purple trillium (T. erectum) really has dark red petals. The blossom is beautiful but has a most unpleasant odor.

Perhaps the prettiest of the trilliums is the painted trillium (T. undulatum), also called painted wake-robin or smiling wake-robin. Its narrow, pointed petals are white marked with deep pink or maroon. The nodding miliums T. cernuum) white flowers droop and are almost hidden by the leaves.

When trilliums are picked, they wilt quickly, and the plant forms no seed for the next year.

It is best, therefore, to let the flowers stay in their natural woodland home.

In 1927 the trillium was made the official flower of Ontario, Canada.

Anthurium is the name of a large genus of flowering plants native to tropical regions (Tropical Flowers) in North and South America. There are about 1,100 species of anthuriums. They grow wild chiefly in rain forests. They also are cultivated in greenhouses and gardens.

Many wild anthuriums wrap around tree trunks and branches, though some grow along the ground. Most anthuriums have large evergreen leaves shaped like hearts. In some species, the leaves are lobed or separated.

The pink flamingo; also, is one of the most commonly cultivated anthuriums. Anthuriums are grown for their beautiful leaves and brightly colored leaf like spathes, rated into fingerlike leaflets. Anthuriums bear very small flowers tightly packed on a cylindrical fleshy stalk called a spadix. The spadix rises from a shiny, leaf-like spathe, which is often brightly colored.

One of the most commonly cultivated anthuriums is the pink flamingo, also called flamingo lily. This plant has a bright pink spathe that lasts several weeks. Gardeners also grow anthuriums for their attractive leaves. The leaf veins of some species are outlined in pale green to silvery white against a dark green or purple background.