Tag Archives: Summer

The Jolly Jester Marigolds are beautiful and versatile. They tolerate poor conditions. Plant at the ends of your rows for a beautiful and powerful natural pest protector, in front of your pea or bean fence for decorative border. Flowers are edible and also used in teas. Bloom from late summer through fall. Mine are still blooming in November in Sunnyvale! …

Watsonia bulbs are an excellent example of how simple gardening can be when the right plant is matched to suitable growing conditions. Fresh watsonia bulbs are available from early September through mid November only. They naturalize so you can leave them in the soil for next year. Use a large, heavy container; watsonia grow 4-6 feet tall. Fill your containers …

Helichrysum argyrophyllum is a tough and beautiful groundcover. Awesome for spilling over rocks, walls or for edging and containers, the small glistening, almost metallic, ever-silvery leaves and stems of this South African native construct a solid, trailing and ground-hugging mat. And even awesomer, from mid-Summer thru Fall it almost covers itself with showy little canary-yellow “strawflowers” that last for months …

Borage is a pretty herb for summer and fall. Borage is a freely seeding, easy growing annual plant with vivid blue flowers and leaves with the flavor of cucumbers. It is consider an herb, but is often grown as a flower in vegetable gardens where it attracts pollinating bees and is considered a good companion plant for tomatoes, squash and …

Many gardeners have learned the value of Cuphea for summer long flowers. We value them not only for the small, attractive flowers, but also for the hummingbirds, butterflies, and nectar-feeding insects that swarm around them. Aka Bat-Face Cuphea, St. Peter’s Plant, Tiny Mice, Bunny Ears, Cuphea llavea. Cuphea is a family of plants containing about 115 species according to the …

You can’t get any easier to grow than Linaria purpurea. Slender spikes of tiny violet-blue snapdragon-like flowers over narrow, whorled, blue-grey leaves light up many an old garden. Blooms all Summer in full sun or part shade. Fairly drought tolerant once established & it reseeds! To 3’ high & 1’ wide, it looks good in groupings. Native to southeastern Europe.

Native to Mexico and the West Indies, angelonia (sometimes also called summer snapdragon) is an upright, glabrous, somewhat bushy, tropical perennial that is noted for its long summer bloom of small snapdragon-like flowers. Plants typically grow 12-18” tall. Stems are clad with narrow, oblong to lanceolate, green leaves (to 3” long) with toothed margins. Foliage is slightly aromatic. Bluish-purple flowers …

The name Dianthus is from the Greek words dios (“god”) and anthos (“flower”), and was cited by the Greek botanist Theophrastus. The color pink may be named after the flower, coming from the frilled edge of the flowers: the verb “pink” dates from the 14th century and means “to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern”. Ecology: Dianthus species are …

Coleus is a pretty foliage plant , Solenostemon scutellarioides   Family: Lamiaceae (lay-mee-AY-see-ee) (Info) Genus: Solenostemon (sol-en-oh-STEM-on) (Info) Species: scutellarioides (skew-tell-ar-ee-OH-ih-deez) (Info)   Synonym:Coleus blumei Synonym:Coleus scutellarioides   Category: Annuals Tropicals and Tender Perennials   Height: 12-18 in. (30-45 cm) 18-24 in. (45-60 cm)   Spacing: 9-12 in. (22-30 cm)   Hardiness: USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 °C (20 °F) …

Rose Verbena, Purple Verbena, Homestead Verbena, Glandularia canadensis Family: Verbenaceae (ver-be-NAY-see-ee) (Info) Genus: Glandularia (glan-doo-LAIR-ee-uh) (Info) Species: canadensis (ka-na-DEN-sis) (Info) Cultivar: ? Synonym:Glandularia drummondii Synonym:Glandularia lambertii Synonym:Verbena canadensis Synonym:Verbena lambertii Synonym:Verbena x ?   Category: Perennials   Height: 6-12 in. (15-30 cm)   Spacing: 6-9 in. (15-22 cm) 18-24 in. (45-60 cm) 24-36 in. (60-90 cm) 36-48 in. (90-120 cm) …