True to the "pan" in its name, pandan is a culinary herb commonly added to southeast Asian cuisine. Also known as dwarf or fragrant screw pine, the plant reportedly has an earthy scent similar to hay, while the cooked leaves smell like caramel corn. The flavor has been described as akin to roasted breadfruit or hazelnut. Read More
I somehow ended up with two very similar-if not identical- types of nolana seeds this year, Nolana humifusa and Nolana humifusa "Little Bells." (That's what happens when you make out a seed order without checking what you've already traded for! ) I was happy to have both, actually, since the South American plants are not well known nor widely available in the U.S. The other species you are most likely to find here are Nolana paradoxa and its cultivars, such as 'Bluebird', 'Snowbird' and 'Cliffhanger'. Read More
It has been my experience that most shade perennials--such as bleeding hearts, lily of the valley, and columbines--bloom in spring. So I was delighted to come across the more unusual false anemone (Anemonopsis macrophylla), which can brighten those shadowy places from midsummer to early autumn instead. Read More
Medinilla is one of those plants so striking that smitten gardeners like me rush out and acquire one whether or not we actually have the conditions for growing it. In the wild, the most popular type -- showy medinilla (Medinilla magnifica) -- can grow to 8 feet with 1-foot leathery leaves and dangly pink flower clusters up to 18 inches long. Read More
Someone once told me that I couldn't have rose slugs because western Pennsylvania was too far north for them. I responded with a hollow laugh. Rose slugs are my second gardening nemesis, after the four-lined plant bug about which I wrote earlier. Read More
I originally became interested in lachenalia -- also known as soldiers, soldier boys, or cape cowslip -- after seeing a photo of the viridiflora type. Its almost startling shade of turquoise aroused all my acquisitive instincts! That type is endangered in its native country of South Africa and tends to be one of the most expensive species, since it is so much in demand. Read More
Among the most exotic of wildflowers, pouched lady's slipper orchids are also now among the most rare wildflowers in some parts of the country. I don't recall ever seeing one here in western Pennsylvania. My dad remembers his older sisters sighting some when they were girls walking a wooded road home from school, but the only one of those "girls" still living today is in her 90s. Read More
Soursop tree, AKA guanabana or Annona muricata, produces oblong fruits with spiny green rinds and juicy white flesh. Popular in tropical drinks and sherbets, it has a somewhat acidic flavor which some people have compared to a combination of pineapple and bananas. An evergreen that can reach 30 feet and requires temperatures above freezing at all times, soursop will only thrive in USDA zones 10 through 13 or in a warm and humid greenhouse. Read More
Granted, some of you get fungi in your basement without even trying, but growing the edible type can be a fun winter activity. Of course, sensible people usually order kits. But I've always believed that doing things yourself is much more fulfilling! Read More
Like the flowering maples in my previous article, honeybells (Hermannia spp.) are bell-shaped members of the mallow family. However, most of them originated in Africa, making them much better adapted to hot, dry conditions than abutilons are. Read More
Heliotrope was one of the favorite fragrances, as well as one of the favorite colors, of the Victorian era. Lavender hues could be worn by those in half-mourning, after all. Considering the number of relatives who might die in the large families common then--and the number of diseases on hand to kill them--Victorian women must have worn one form of mourning or another for much of their lives. Read More
Yellow flax was one of the first houseplants I grew back in the dark ages when I was a young and beginning gardener. Being such an amiable and free-flowering species, it bloomed its head off under my grow lights in the dead of winter, feeding my delusion that I had a green thumb. It was, in fact, one of the few species I've ever seen that bloomed as well in person -- er, in plant -- as it did in the catalog photo. I would learn shortly that not all flowers are as easy to please! Read More
When I grew Purple Devil (Solanum atropurpureum), also sometimes known as Malevolence, it reached a height of about 6 feet and stopped a couple of my plant-loving aunts in their tracks. "What is that?" they demanded to know. Read More
The idea of daisies that grow on trees during winter sounds like something a wistful gardener would dream up after smoking the wrong plant! Those daisy trees do exist, however, though they flourish only in areas with what we northerners would consider wimpy winters--namely USDA zones 9 through 11. Read More
If you are searching for the grail of winter-blooming plants, Solandra is probably it. After all, there must be a reason they call it chalice vine! And its flowers are golden enough, in both color and size, to qualify. The "goblet" that just opened on my indoor plant measures 5 inches across, but those blooms can reach at least 8 inches in diameter when grown outdoors. Read More
Do you love adding the latest roses to your garden at this time of year? If so, why not try creating a completely new one that is all your own? Just cross two existing roses and plant the seeds which result from that cross. Like you and your siblings, seedlings from the same parents will all be different, with some more attractive than others! Read More
Since most bellflowers (Campanula spp.) have purple or pink flowers, the blooms of the Canary Island Bellflower (Canarina canariensis) stand out in bloodshot orange. Campanulas are mostly perennial plants too, while the tuberous and vining canarina is only hardy in zones 9b to 11. Read More
In full bloom a bridal wreath spirea looks like a fountain, pouring clusters of white flowers all the way down its arching canes in spring, often before the leaves appear. When cut, those canes can easily be shaped into bridal headdresses, explaining their name. Non-nuptial types of spirea, on the other hand, fashion their clusters at the ends of their stems, bloom in summer and fall, and come in colors other than white. Read More
Flowering maples are sometimes known as parlor maples, since they used to decorate chilly Victorian front rooms. They actually are members of the Abutilon rather than the Acer family, but they do flower. Not as prolifically for me as the ones in catalog photos, but those businesses have greenhouses and I don't! Read More
Mindless musings on cheap plants. Read More