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Growing Instructions

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  • Dahlias

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    Dahlias - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Dahlias are some of the showiest of all flowers. Dahlias originated in the central plateau and highlands of Mexico where even today, in August and September, the wild progenitors of this huge flower genus can be found blooming along highways, near cliffs, among boulders and on the slopes of the ancient volcanic mountains. The Aztecs cultivated the plant and had gardens filled with dahlias. In 1791, the plant was brought to Spain where Antonio Jose Cavanilles, a senior member of the staff of the Royal Botanic Garden in Madrid gave it the name, Dahlia, in honor of the Swedish botanist, Andreas Dahl, a pupil of Linnaeus. In the 1800's, the plant's popularity exploded throughout Europe and Great Britain

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  • Cosmos

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    Cosmos 
- A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Cosmos is a true American native being indigenous to the southwestern United States and Mexico. The name, Cosmos, comes from the Greek word meaning harmony or ordered universe. This is probably a reference to the ordered arrangement of the plant's petals. The plant was grown by Spanish priests in their mission gardens and was carried to Europe where it became known as "peasant's flowers" because of its ability to grow in the poor soils surrounding peasant cottages. In the United States, as early as 1838, the much respected New York seedsman, Grant Thorburn was offering a 6 foot tall, "late Cosmos" in his seed catalogs. In 1799, the plant was introduced into Britain with little success. Cosmos is

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  • Coreopsis (Calliopsis)

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    Coreopsis (Calliopsis) - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Coreopsis which was once known as Calliopsis and is sometimes known as Tickseed is a member of the Aster family. The plants are true native Americans being indigenous to the prairies and woodlands of North and Central America and Mexico. This is one of the many plants, named and described, by the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806. Plants identified by Lewis and Clark were sent back to the Bernard McMahon Nurseries in Philadelphia. The nurseries were charged with making the seed or plants available to the American public which they did. By 1851, when Joseph Breck wrote his book, The Flower Garden, the plant was well known. Breck writes, "Calliopsis tinctoria - var. atropurpurea. - Dyeing Calliopsis,

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  • Cleome

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    Cleome 
- A Little History and Some Growing Instructions Cleomes are part of a large family of robust annuals and shrubs which are indigenous to tropical and subtropical areas worldwide. Only a few of the annuals are commonly cultivated. It is believed that the plant from which Cleome Rose Queen was developed came originally from the West Indies and was introduced into the United States in 1817. The Latin name of this plant was Capparidaceae Hassleriana. The plant gained almost immediate popularity because of the extraordinary blossoms it produced on top of the nearly 4-5 foot stems. They were a curiosity and they definitely looked curious. In his 1851 book, The Flower Garden, Joseph Breck wrote, "This is an elegant tribe of plants and very curious in their

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  • Chinese Lantern

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    Chinese Lantern - A Little History and Some Growing Instructions The Chinese Lantern plant is a perennial which belongs to a family of more than 80 different species including the edible Ground Cherry and Tomatillo. This plant has been a favorite of Easterners and Westerners for centuries and is indigenous from southeastern Europe to Japan. Many gardeners now consider this plant to be an aggressive, invasive weed, but for others the vibrant orange husk which  develops in early autumn to protect the inedible, cherry-like fruit, when dried, produces one of the most unusual dried ornamentals available. Cut the stems in September and tie them into small bunches. Let dry in a cool area away from direct sunlight. This plant is purely ornamental. It is not edible like its

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  • Chrysanthemum Painted Daisy and Court Jester

    Mar 02, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    Chrysanthemum Painted Daisy and Court Jester - 
A Little History and Some Growing Instructions The Court Jester is a variety of Painted Daisy which is a member of the abundant Chrysanthemum family. Painted Daisies are annuals. It has been said that few flowers are more highly valued or widely grown than chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemums originated in China. Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, Confucius wrote about the flower. In 386 AD, chrysanthemums reached Japan via Korea, but the Japanese initially showed little interest in the flower. About 250 years after it was first introduced into Japan breeding programs with the flower began. The Chinese-Korean flowers were crossed with wild Japanese species with attractive results. Near the end of the 8th century, the chrysanthemum became the

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  • The Chicory and the Endive

    Mar 01, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Chicory and the Endive The Europeans have used chicory as a salad ingredient and as an alternative to coffee for more than a century. In the United States, chicory has only become popular in the past few decades. Chicory and endive, although different, are all part of the same plant family, Cichorium. Endive has two forms, narrow-leaved, known as curly endive and broad-leaved known as escarole. The outside leaves of all endive are green and bitter. The inside leaves are light green to creamy white and are milder flavored. Chicory has three forms. Spring or cutting chicory, also known as Italian Dandelion, is grown for its leafy greens which are narrow and lancelike and resemble dandelion greens. Radicchio is a heading form of chicory. Radicchio forms

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  • The Caulifower

    Mar 01, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Caulifower Cauliflower is nearly identical to broccoli. The only differences are the colors and characteristics of the head. Cauliflowers are generally white, but there are purple, green, and yellow varieties. Also, cauliflowers do not develop smaller heads or side shoots once the main head has been harvested. The cauliflower is thought to have been cultivated 2000 years ago in the Eastern Mediterranean. By the 1300s, the vegetable was known in southern Europe, and by the 1400s, it was popular in northern Europe. In the United States, cauliflower did not become popular until the 1800s. In a 1848 seed catalogue it was written, “The Cauliflower is one of the most delicate and curious of the whole brassica tribe; the flower-buds forming a close, firm cluster or head, white and

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  • The Carrot

    Mar 01, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Carrot The carrot grows wild throughout the Mediterranean and as far east as the Orient. The region around Afghanistan may have been where the first carrots originated and grew in shades of purple, red, or white. Yellow carrots were first recorded in Turkey in the 900’s. However, it was not until the 1600’s that the Dutch in Holland developed the first orange carrot. In the United States, there appears to have been little interest in the root-like vegetable. The 1848 Landreth catalogue only lists four carrots, two of which are for table use and the other two are suggested as feedstock for animals. The French became passionate about the orange vegetable and in the second half of the 19th century, the famous French seedhouse, Vilmorin-Andrieux, initiated

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  • The Cabbage

    Mar 01, 2016 Categories: Growing Instructions

    The Cabbage In 1848, it was written, “The cabbage tribe is, of all the classes of cultivated vegetables, the most ancient, as well as the most extensive. The Brassica oleracea being extremely liable to sport or run into varieties or monstrosities, has in the course of time, become the parent of a numerous race of culinary productions, so various in their habit and appearance that to many it may not appear a little extravagant to refer them to the same origin.” In a few short phrases, it captured the essential essence of this incredible family of vegetables. The cabbage family, which includes broccoli, cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, kohlrabi, turnips, and rutabaga, is one of the most ancient vegetable families known to man. The ability of brassica to

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