Long-blooming, scented, drought tolerant & snail & deer resistant, this flamboyant annual from North Africa self-sows too! What more could you want? Butterflies? Yes, butterflies adore it, too! Gobs of bright little scarlet & gold bi-colored “snapdragon” blooms are displayed for months above soft ferny foliage. Cut back after it’s finished blooming & it’ll rebloom quickly & vigorously. To 12” …

The Rocoto chile has thick walls like a bell pepper but it is very hot. Capsicum pubescens is found primarily in Central and South America. Rocoto can withstand cooler temperatures than other cultivated pepper plants, but still cannot withstand frost.The species name, pubescens, means hairy, which refers to the hairy leaves of this pepper. The hairiness of the leaves, along …

Gardeners who enjoy growing Nicotiana, enjoy great, fragrant perfume. It’s a flower that is grown for it’s fragrance. Nicotiana attract hummingbirds to their trumpet shaped flowers. Nicotiana plants are easy to grow. Flowers begin to appear and bloom in the early summer. The plant will rebloom all season. Flowers open up in late afternoon, and are on fragrant display all …

Tips for Your Fall Garden

Melothria scabra is a vine grown for its edible fruit. Fruit are about the size of grapes and taste like cucumbers with a tinge of sourness. Vernacular names include mouse melon, Mexican sour gherkin, cucamelon, Mexican miniature watermelon and Mexican sour cucumber. This plant is native to Mexico and Central America,[1] where it is called sandiita (little watermelon). It is …

The Purple Cayenne produces dark purple fruits that are about 4-6 inches long and are very hot. Great when used in salsas or stir fry. They can also be pickled and some people just grow them as an ornamental pepper. The flavor is slightly sweeter than the red variety of cayenne. Purple Cayenne chile plants grow just over two feet …

The Dave’s Garden website has detailed info on thousands of plants.

Try growing bee balm in view of a window so you won’t miss the acrobatics of hummingbirds that visit in summer. Bee balm also attracts butterflies and bees.

Gymnocalycium mihanovichii is a species of cactus from South America commonly grown as a houseplant. The most popular cultivars are variegated mutants which completely lack chlorophyll, exposing the underlying red, orange or yellow pigmentation. These cultivars are often called moon cactus. Since chorophyll is necessary for photosynthesis, these mutations die as seedlings unless grafted onto another cactus with normal chlorophyll. …

This is a shameless promotion of the beekeeping website of my brother Adam and his wife Therese.