Tag: annuals
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Portulaca grandiflora
Portulaca: One of those simple and seemingly “stuffy” plants that I had always ignored – until I needed to find some pretty summer ground cover for two large pots on the terrace. These plants are everywhere and they are so inexpensive that they are practically thrown in with your purchase at the garden center. They…
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Helianthus annuus
Helianthus annuus or the common sunflower is a native of North and Middle America and needs rich soil as well as sufficient water to thrive. I would therefore never have bothered planting it – the birdfeeder took care of that for me. And so for two years running I have had one or two wonderful…
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Eschscholzia californica
As I keep saying: I don’t really like orange or yellow flowers. But there are some lifelong favorite exceptions like Calendula officinalis or Eschscholzia californica. You just have to love these totally uncomplicated flowers with their deeply luminous orange color and their silky petals. I also love their “cooler” cream-white shades though. Eschscholzia californica or…
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Calendula
I don’t really like “hot” colors in flowers, like yellow, orange, or red. But there are some I can’t resist. Among them is Calendula officinalis or Marigold – one of my alltime favorites. Marigold thrives in a Mediterranean Garden When we first arrived here I tossed a package of calendula seeds in the vegetable garden and…
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Nigella damascena
One of my absolute favorites because it is sooo easy to grow and because it is sooo pretty. In late summer or early spring I just toss the seeds wherever I want to fill up an empty spot and throughout May and June I fill up my camera with pictures of these lovely lacy flowers……
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Antirrhinum
I always judged Snapdragons to be a bit of a stuffy, boring flower for stuffy, bourgoeis gardens. How unjust I was – and how wrong. Since they kept popping up in my garden uninvited I have learned that Antirrhinum are a Mediterranean native and very drought-tolerant. They can be annuals or short-lived perennials that grow…