Prince's Feather 'Oeschberg'

Botanical name: Amaranthus cruentus 'Oeschberg'
Other name: Upright Love Lies Bleeding, Upright Amaranthus.

Description
AMARANTHUS CRUENTUS "OESCHBERG", also known as Upright Love Lies Bleeding. It grows well over 4 ft tall with lots of crimson "spikes" or "feathers" rising above deep red foliage. It also held its foliage and flower color longer than other similarly colored varieties. Amaranthus are re-seeding annuals, great in dried floral arrangements as well as fresh floral arrangements. They are very drought tolerant and love the heat. In fact, the seeds won't sprout until temperatures get hot.

How to grow

Light: Full sun
Soil: Well drained soil and dry tolerant
Height in inches: 28-48"
Spread: 24"+
Germination: 4-10 days; Soil 70F
Sowing time: Late spring or early summer.

Lance-Leaved Coreopsis

Botanical name: Coreopsis lanceolata (Asteraceae)
Other name: Tickseed

Description
Features solitary, yellow, daisy-like flowers (1-2" diameter) with eight yellow rays (toothed at the tips) and flat yellow center disks. Flowers bloom atop slender, erect stems from spring to early summer. Narrow, hairy, lance-shaped leaves (2-6" long) appear primarily near the base of the plant in basal tufts. Lower basal leaves are mostly entire, while smaller stem leaves may be pinnately lobed.

How to grow
Easily grown in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soil in full sun. Thrives in poor, sandy or rocky soils with good drainage. Tolerant of heat, humidity and drought. Prompt deadheading of spent flower stalks encourages additional bloom and prevents any unwanted self-seeding. Freely self-seeds, and in optimum growing conditions will naturalize to form large colonies. Plants may be cut back hard in summer if foliage sprawls or becomes unkempt. If grown in borders, division may be needed every 2-3 years to maintain robustness.

Height: 2-3 feet
Germination: 20-30 days
Optimum soil temperature for germination: 65-70F
Sowing depth: 1/16"
Blooming period: May-July

Calendura 'Pacific Beauty' Mix

Botanical name: Calendula officinalis (Compositae)
Other name: Pot Marigold, Scotch Marigold

Description
Calendula officinalis is an aromatic annual plant, that belongs to the Asteraceae family. Typically, it grows to about half a meter in height. The stems are straight and ramified. The leaves are oblong-lanceolate, hairy on both sides and 5 to 15 cm long with toothed margins. The inflorescences are thick capitula or flower-heads (3-8 cm) surrounded by two rows of hairy bracts. The tubular, hermaphrodite, central flowers are generally, of a more intense orange-yellow colour than the female, tridentate, peripheral flowers. The flower-heads appear all year long. The fruit is a thorny curved achene. The "Pacific Beauty" variety is a mix of yellow, orange, apricot, and cream colors.

How to grow
For cold winter climates, you can sow outdoor in early spring, as soon as the soil can be worked. For warm winter climates, sow outdoor in early fall for winter/spring blooms. You can also sow inside 6 to 8 weeks before average last frost (recommend for cold winter climates)

Flower Type: Annual
Bloom Time: Summer to early summer, Fall
Height: 12" to 24"
Exposure: Full Sun
Seed Depth: 1/4" to 1/2"
Seed Spacing: 2"
Days to Emerge: 5 to 15
Thinning: When 1" tall thin to 12" apart

Uses
The leaves and petals of the Pot Marigold are edible, with the petals added to dishes as a garnish and in lieu of saffron. The leaves can be sweet but are more commonly bitter, and may be used in salads. It was used in ancient Greek, Roman, Arabic and Indian cultures as a medicinal herb as well as a dye for fabrics, foods and cosmetics. It is a popular cultivated herb or Long lasting cut flower, great in parking strips, containers, and borders.

Bird's Eyes

Botanical name: Gilia Tricolor (Polemoniaceae)
Other name: Tricolor gilia, bird's eye gilia

Description
A hardy annual native to the western United States that will easily adapt to a variety of conditions. The elegant trumpet shaped flowers are lavender and white with golden throats. Flowers are delightfuly fragrant, and retain their color when dried. A beautiful ornament plant to have in your garden.


How to grow

Light: Full sun
Soil: well-drained soil
Height: 12-18 inches
Germination: 20-30 days
Optimum soil temperature for germination: 65-75F
Sowing depth: Surface Sow
Spacing: 20cm
Blooming period: March-May

Bird's Foot Trefoil

Botanical name: Lotus corniculatus (Fabaceae)
Other name: Birdsfoot trefoil, bloomfell, cat's clover, crowtoes, garden bird's-foot-trefoil, ground honeysuckle

Description
Birdsfoot trefoil is a low-growing, perennial forb with stems that can reach 2 ft. (0.6 m) long. Leaves are compound (with 5 oval to linear leaflets), stipulate and alternate. Leaflets (upper 3) are 0.5 in. (1.3 cm) long and less than 1/8 in. (0.3 cm) wide; the lower two resemble leaf-like stipules. Sweet pea-like flowers develop in clusters of 2-8 on a long peduncle (stalk). Fruits are pods that occur in head-like clusters. Each pod is brown to black, cylindrical, 0.6-1.4 in. (1.5-3.5 cm) long, contains up to 49 seeds and has a persistent style at the apex. Birdsfoot trefoil is native to Eurasia and North Africa and occurs in pastures, roadsides, wetlands, disturbed grasslands and riparian areas.

How to grow
Birdsfoot trefoil grows best when planted in early spring, although you can plant in late summer as well. Note: Birdsfoot trefoil seeds have a tough outer coating and need to be scarified before planting.

Height: Up to 2 feet
Light: Full sun
Soil: thin and poor soil
Sow depth: 1/2 inch
Germination: 2-4 weeks
USDA zone: 3-9
Bloom Time: Early and mid-season

Black-eyed Susan

Botanical name: Rudbeckia hirta (Asteraceae)
Other name: Yellow Ox-eye Daisy

Description
A stiff, upright annual or shortlived perennial native to the eastern United States, but has become endemic throughout North America. It is the state flower of Maryland. Black-Eyed Susans are perennial daisies or coneflowers, members of the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The flower heads measure 2 to 3 inches in diameter with yellow rays circling a dark-brown, spherical center. Commonly found in fields and on roadsides. Cut flower has a vase life of 6 to 10 days.


How to grow
It is easy to grow from seeds. Sown 2 weeks before the last expected frost, or started indoors 6-8 weeks before planting them outdoors in the Spring.

Light: Full sun
Soil: any type soil with well-drained
Height: 2-3 feet
Germination: 7-30 days
Optimum soil temperature for germination: 70F
Sowing depth: 1/16"
Blooming period: June-August
USDA Zone: 3-10

Bells Of Ireland

Botanical name: Moluccella laevis (Mint Family)
Other name: Molucca balmis, Shellflower, Shell flower

Description
Bells of Ireland is a summer flowering annual, native to Turkey, Syria and the Caucasus. Attractive and unusual bedding plant producing rich olive green bells delightful for use for real flower arranging with their highlighted tones and various shades of green. It is cultivated for its spikes of flowers. The tiny white flowers are surrounded by apple green calyces which are persisent. The rounded leaves are pale green. A member of the mint family, the blooming stems can be cut and used in fresh or dried flower arrangements.

How to grow
sow seed indoors in April. Cover seed lightly. Germinate at temperatures of 55 - 64º F (13 - 18º C). Do not cover with soil, as the seeds need light to germinate. Germination will normally occur within 20-35 days. Harden seedlings off and plant outdoors after last frost. Light: Full sun to partial shade. Soil: Neutral, moist, well-drained.

For cut flowers, cut stem ends and dip briefly into boiling water, and transfer to warm water in a vase. If you want to collect seed for sowing the following year, let flower stalks remain on the plant and collect seed when the seeds turn a dark color and fall out easily.