Peace Lily
This popular houseplant is easy to grow, even in low light conditions. Peace Lily Overview DESCRIPTION One of the most classic houseplants, the peace lily has been around for ages for good reason: It is one of the easiest houseplants to grow. It produces a lush display of glossy green foliage, plus it happily blooms throughout the year. The flowers are usually white. GENUS NAME Spathiphyllum COMMON NAME Peace Lily PLANT TYPE Houseplant LIGHT Part Sun, Shade HEIGHT 1 to 3 feet WIDTH 1 to 6 feet FLOWER COLOR Green, White FOLIAGE COLOR Blue/Green SEASON FEATURES Fall Bloom, Reblooming, Spring Bloom, Summer Bloom, Winter Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Good for Containers, Low Maintenance PROPAGATION Division Colorful Combinations Peace lilies’ large, glossy leaves are emerald green. Tall blossoms develop throughout the year as long as the plants receive enough light. A member of the Arum genus, peace lilies have a large white spathe,…
Pea
Pea Overview DESCRIPTION Peas are a spring garden staple, loved for their easy-to-grow nature, delicious seeds, and nutritional value. There’s something magical about harvesting peas fresh from the garden and tasting their sweet, fresh flavor. If you’re planning on planting peas, you’ll first need to pick the right type for you. This no-fuss vegetable comes in three types: English peas, snap peas, and snow peas. English peas, also called pod or shell peas, are the traditional type. They bear thick pods with delicious seeds inside. The seeds need to be removed from the pod (a process referred to as shelling) and eaten, cooked, or frozen quickly—once harvested, the sugars begin to convert to starches. Snap peas have been bred to have edible pods, so you don’t need to shell them. Snow peas, popular in Asian cuisines, also have edible pods but are harvested when they’re still young before the seeds…
Patchouli
With a scent that people seem to either love or hate, this tropical shrub makes an interesting addition to the garden. Patchouli Overview DESCRIPTION A shrubby tropical plant from the mint family, patchouli is best known for its fragrant oil that adds a rich, earthy component to soaps, lotions, and perfumes. People who don’t care for the scent of the oil may still enjoy the smell of patchouli’s aromatic stems and leaves when crushed. The plant also may have medicinal properties. GENUS NAME Pogostemon cablin COMMON NAME Patchouli PLANT TYPE Herb LIGHT Part Sun HEIGHT 1 to 3 feet WIDTH 1 to 3 feet FLOWER COLOR White FOLIAGE COLOR Blue/Green SEASON FEATURES Summer Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Fragrance, Good for Containers ZONES 10, 11 PROPAGATION Seed, Stem Cuttings Patchouli Care Must-Knows Patchouli grows as a perennial shrub in its native tropics, where it thrives in dappled light as an understory…
Passionflower
These vigorous vines can grow up to 15 or 20 feet tall. Colorful Combinations With flowers available in a myriad of colors, there’s a passionflower to fit almost any palette. Along with the varied blossoms you will find, many passionflower species have intriguing foliage. The leaves tend to be medium green with three lobes. Some varieties have wing-shape foliage with a mottled silver pattern. The fruit of the passionflower is generally ornamental but sometimes edible. The fruit varies in size from that of an acorn to as large as a football. Colors range from bright green, yellow, and orange to purple. Curious Co-Evolutions As they’ve evolved, some of the 400-plus species in this genus have created relationships with insects. Some species of passionflower act as nesting and food locations for butterflies and have developed extra appendages off the base of the leaves that secrete sugary liquid to feed the insects. These plants…
Parsnip
More varieties for Parsnip ‘Andover’ parsnip Pastinaca sativa ‘Andover’ is a productive variety with long, cylindrical roots and a rounded crown. It has good resistance to canker. 120 days
How to Plant and Grow Parsley
Use this easy-to-grow herb either fresh or dried and as an edible or an ornamental. Parsley is a biennial which means it grows in one season, and after winter, it blooms, seeds, and dies. It’s often grown as an annual and is used in cooking. Curly leaf parsleys work well for cooking and add a gorgeous deep green dimension to ornamental flowerbeds. Flat leaf parsleys include Italian types that taste sweet and strong, with a flavor recommended for cooked dishes. Use this guide to grow and care for parsley in your garden. Parsley Overview GENUS NAME Petroselinum COMMON NAME Parsley PLANT TYPE Annual, Herb LIGHT Sun HEIGHT 6 to 12 inches WIDTH 8 to 24 inches FLOWER COLOR White SEASON FEATURES Summer Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Good for Containers PROPAGATION Seed Where to Plant Parsley Call on parsley to anchor a kitchen herb collection. When grown within steps of your door, fresh herbs…
Parlor Palm
This tall houseplant will add a tropical touch to any room. Parlor Palm Care Must-Knows Outdoors, parlor palm is hardy in Zones 10 to 12, where it is easy to grow in rich, moist, well-drained soil and part shade. Enrich the soil with well-decomposed compost prior to planting. Choose a location protected from strong winds, which have a tendency to damage parlor palm’s fronds. It pairs well with ferns, peace lily (Spathiphyllum), ginger (Asarum canadense), and elephant’s ear (Alocasia). Indoors as a houseplant, parlor palm grows well in bright filtered light, like what you’d get at a south- or west-facing window with a sheer curtain. But this adaptable plant also tolerates low light and can thrive in spaces with east- or north-facing windows. Water thoroughly (water should escape through pot’s drainage hole) when the top inch of soil is dry to the touch. These palms don’t like sitting in wet soil, so be sure to dump…
Papyrus
Papyrus Overview DESCRIPTION Papyrus is an easy-to-grow water plant with a rich, long history. Native to areas of Africa, the plant has been used for thousands of years to make a paperlike material. But papyrus is also loved in gardens. Papyrus sends out grassy sprays of leaves that jut out from the stems like a fireworks display. The leafy clusters may form plantlets that you can separate and grown individually. Grow papyrus in a weighted pot so that the stems rise above the water surface in a pond, or grow it in moist soil at water’s edge. GENUS NAME Cyperus papyrus COMMON NAME Papyrus PLANT TYPE Water Plant LIGHT Sun HEIGHT 3 to 8 feet WIDTH 2 to 4 feet FLOWER COLOR Green FOLIAGE COLOR Blue/Green SEASON FEATURES Fall Bloom, Reblooming, Summer Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Cut Flowers, Good for Containers, Low Maintenance ZONES 10, 9 PROPAGATION Division Garden…
How to Plant and Grow Pansies
Learn how to brighten up containers and gardens during the cooler months with pansies—and then overwinter them for a second round of color. A long bench of pansies at the garden center is a sure sign—even to the beginner gardener—that spring has arrived. These cool-weather plants flood the landscape with cheer after a long winter, and if you live in a warmer region, they can also add a punch of autumnal color to a fading September garden. Many varieties can even overwinter to return the following spring. The several different species of pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are actually viola hybrids. (Johnny jump-ups, or Viola tricolor, and Viola ‘Jackanapes’ are closely related, similarly hardy, and usually sold in garden centers at the same time.) These beloved biennials, often grown as annuals, are perhaps most well known for their “faces”—the distinct markings on their petals that British growers began to breed for in the 1800s. However, pansies…
How to Plant and Grow Wallflower
The blooms of this plant will put on quite a show in your garden during the spring. Native to southern Europe, wallflowers are cool-season plants hardy in Zones 3-10 with a lovely fragrance. They come in an abundance of colors. Wallflower is a short-lived perennial or biennial often grown as an annual with a long season of blooms. They vary in size from low groundcovers to small shrubs. Sow wallflowers a few weeks before the last frost date for your region to have them blooming in late spring. Wallflower Overview GENUS NAME Erysimum COMMON NAME Wallflower PLANT TYPE Annual, Perennial LIGHT Part Sun, Sun HEIGHT 1 to 3 feet WIDTH 1 to 2 feet FLOWER COLOR Blue, Orange, Pink, Purple, Red, White, Yellow FOLIAGE COLOR Blue/Green SEASON FEATURES Fall Bloom, Spring Bloom, Summer Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Fragrance, Good for Containers, Low Maintenance ZONES 10, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,…