Peony (pe’one). Peonies belong to the buttercup family and are among the oldest of garden flowers. They have been cultivated in China for more than 2,000 years. In early times their roots were used for food and in medicines, but they were prized, then as now, for their beautiful flowers. Wild ancestors of garden peonies […]
Moonflower is an attractive flower in the morning glory family. It is a climbing vine that may grow 10 feet (3 meters) high. It’s broad, heart shaped leaves block sunlight and make an excellent screen for porches. The moonflower’s pure white trumpet shaped flowers may be 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) across. […]
Lily of the valley belongs to the Lily family, and is natives of Europe, northern Asia, and the mountain region from Virginia to South Carolina in the United States. They are a favorite garden flower but often grow along roadsides and in open woods Lilies of the valley are long-lived perennials. The blossoms are usually […]
Cashew is a bean-shaped nut that grows on a tropical evergreen tree. Cashew nuts are delicious when roasted and is a popular food in the United States, India, Brazil, and several African countries pro Cashews grow in bean shaped shells attached to fruitlike cashew apples. The stem grows at the end opposite the nut. The […]
Spiraea (spire’a). During the early summer the several kinds of spiraea make fields and gardens beautiful with their dainty lace-like blossom. The spiraea belongs to the rose family. It is represented by some one of its more than 75 species in every part of the Northern Hemisphere. Some of these species are common wild flowers […]
Wisteria (wista’ria), a vine, is sacred in Japan, where its purple or blue flowers are more honored than the white. In the United States, it is trained to grow over gateways, on trellises and upon trees. Its long clusters of graceful purple, lavender, blue, or white flowers droop downward. The wistaria, or wisteria, native to […]
Mullein (mul’un) is any of several species of the genus Verbascum, biennial herbs of the figwort family. The mullein s leaves are large, thick and densely hairy. The first year of its growthit forms a large plant often more than a foot across and lying close to the ground. In the early summer of its […]
Water lily, or pond lily, is a member of a large family of plants that has representatives in every part of the world. They all have long perennial rootstocks. They send their flower and leaf stalks up to the surface of the water on which they float. The flowers and leaves of some tropical kinds […]
Orchid. A starving community of Moros, living in the midst of orchids worth many thousands of dollars, was one of the scenes stumbled upon by Fred Burdett while searching for rare orchids in the Pacific islands. Many other tropical sections have yielded rare and expensive specimens of these strange flowers. Orchids belong to the family […]
Lady’s slipper, a wild flower of the orchid family. It grows in cool, deep woods and damp marshes. About ten species are found in North America. The Indians called one of the large pink lady’s-dippers the moccasin flower. Its Latin name, cypripedium, means “slipper of Venus,” the goddess of gardens. These names were given the […]
Bougainvillea, is the name of a group of South American shrubs and climbing vines. They grow to a height of 10 feet (3 meters) or more. They have small flowers that are enclosed by large, colorful bracts(modified leaves). The bracts may be red, purple, pink, orange, or pale yellow.They are often grown as porch climbers […]
FRUIT is the part of a plant that contains the seeds. Fruits include apples, strawberries, and oranges; but fruits also include vegetables, nuts, and grains. This is sometimes confusing because not everything that is called a vegetable is really a fruit. Potatoes, for instance, do not contain seeds and are actually an enlarged part of […]
Broom is the name of a group of attractive shrubs. More than 100 species grow in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Some types of broom plants are used to make dyes. The Scotch broom, a native of Europe, is grown in the United States. Many of its green branches are leafless or almost without leaves. The […]
Easter lily is a flower’s that has become a sign of Easter. The Easter lily is a tall plant with long, pointed leaves. The large, fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers are a waxy white color. Easter lilies grow throughout the world. American florists formerly grew the Madonna lily of southern Europe. Its periods of blooming, however, are […]