Flowers From A to Z

The amaryllis is one of my favorite perennials. Here in South Carolina they bloom close to the end of April. The stems remain green throughout the summer but die back after the first frost. It's a hardy plant and readily multiplies. Every few years I dig them up, split the bulbs apart and share with my friends.

When I want to add a new variety to my garden, I buy a bulb before Christmas. If it blooms on time, it becomes a part of my Christmas decorating theme. Once it dies back, I put it in the garage and ignore it until spring. Once it'splanted in the garden it takes a year for it to bloom again, but it will bloom every spring after that.

The Bleeding Heart is one of my mother's favorite flowers. Every year we would give her a Bleeding Heart Plant for Mother's Day. It would bloom beautifully throughout the summer. Unfortunately it didn't always survive the winter. Northern Minnesota is in Zone 4 but it dips down to Zone 3 every now and then.

Here in South Carolina the problem swings to the other extreme. Summers are HOT! As long as the Bleeding Heart has shade in the afternoon, they do fine.

Cosmos Psyche Seeds

Yellow Garden Cosmos

Bright Lights Cosmos Seeds

Dahlias are tuberous perennial plants. It originated in Mexico and Central America but hybrids can be seen in gardens throughout the world. They are fairly easy to grow but gardeners in colder climates usually dig the tubers up in the fall and store them in a cool place until spring.

My grandmother has several dahlia plants. There are at least 36 different hybrid varieties, but my grandmother's has large pink blooms.

There are several things I really like about four o'clocks. Their flowers come in a wide variety of colors, not only between plants but on the same plant as well. A plant that offers yellow flowers early in the season may be sporting pink flowers as the season winds down. Another nice thing about the four o'clocks is that they reseed themselves. If you prefer to harvest the seeds, they are easily plucked from the dying flowers.

They are hardy flowers that will still thrive in dry, poor soil. The flowers open in the late afternoon sun, and they smell heavenly.

Four o'clocks are an excellent annual for Southern gardens, but they do very well up north as well. I remember picking the seeds off my mother's flowers when I was a child. She only bought the seeds once and never had to buy them again.

Geranium Maverick Star

Geranium Himalayense Plenum

Big Red Hybrid

I really like hollyhocks. The blooms are big and bright, and it doesn't wilt the first time you forget to water it. They can handle a hot, dry climate. They are biannuals but most gardeners treat them a annuals.

The Bearded Iris has been and always will be my favorite flower. My grandmother has a bed of purple Bearded Irises. When it bloomed... Even after the flowers faded away, the bed was still beautiful. The thick leaves stood straight and tall. Even the wind couldn't ruffle them.

When I first moved to South Carolina I tried transplanting some of the rhizomes from my grandmother's Minnesota garden to my flower bed. They grew well but never bloomed. I don't know why the change in climate affected them, but it did. I purchased a couple of rhizomes and planted them. They have been blooming beautifully ever sense.

The Bearded Iris is incredibly easy to care for. Every three to five years I dig them up and split the rhizomes and replanted them. Now days when I split the rhizomes I give them away. I have so many irises...

Marigolds don't need an introduction. Their flowers are little sunburst of yellow, orange, and red. There are tall varies and short, variegated petals and solids, as well as multicolored flowers. Like the impatiens, they are a popular bedding plant.

Marigolds are a hardy plant and very drought tolerant. They can be planted directly in the soil or started six to eight weeks before last frost. They will bloom from early summer until first frost.

Word or caution: While the Marigold has beautiful blossoms, they don't smell like flowers. If you consider a garden's fragrance as part of its charm, don't plant too many Marigolds. They are not a sweet smelling flower. I love their color but I limit the number I plant each year.

The Marigold doesn't smell like a flower.

My mother always planted rows of Nasturtium in her vegetable garden. She claimed that they helped keep the bugs away. I don't know if it's true or not, but I have continued the tradition. The Nasturtium blossom is beautiful. It is a hardy plant that comes in both bush and climbing varieties. They thrive in poor soil and bloom throughout the summer.

The viola is often considered a petite country cousin of the pansy. It's a tough little flower. It can handle the cold as well as intense heat. It's an annual flower that will bloom throughout the spring and summer. In some of the warmer climates the viola will continue to bloom through the winter.

In math and in science X represents the unknown. I don't know of a single flower starting with the letter X. One may exist, but it is an unknown.

My love of Zinnias started as a child. My mother had plenty of flower gardens but I wanted my own. The only seeds I had to work with were the left over seeds. My garden was made up of mostly Zinnias, Marigolds and Four O'clocks. The Marigolds were always orange and the Four O'Clocks were red. It was the Zinnias that with its dazzling colors that turned my humble little plot into a showpiece.

Zinnias are easy to grow and cutting blooms for bouquets just encourages more blooms. There are tiny Thumbelinas and giant blooms bigger than my husband's hand. I can't imagine a flower garden without Zinnias.