Sweet Pea

Did you know? Currently, almost every cultivar of the sweet pea is available in international markets, except yellow.

 

Sweet pea is a plant native to the Mediterranean region. Since they are annual climbers and grow in a wide spectrum of colors, they grow for a long period of time, and are the first choice for individual cut flowers and/or exquisite floral decorations.

Kingdom – Plantae

Division – Magnoliophyta

Class – Magnoliopsida

Order – Fabales

Family – Fabaceae

Subfamily – Faboideae

Tribe – Vicieae

Genus – Lathyrus

Species – odoratus

All sweet pea flower varieties are not fragrant, but the ones that are, live up to their namesake. This particular strain of flowers contains up to 160 species.

One must keep a constant eye on the flower throughout its lifespan, as it is prone to all kinds of pests and insects. Unlike the edible pea, seeds of this flower are not edible, and are known to cause toxicity.

Growing Sweet Peas

•  Choose a site in full sun with rich, well-drained soil.
• Sweet Pea vines need full sun and rich, well drained soil.
• Work in some compost before planting. Sweet Pea seeds should be sown directly where it is to grow.
• Soak seeds overnight then plant about an inch deep and 3-4 inches apart.
• Water thoroughly after planting, then restrict water until seeds germinate.
• Fertilize every two to four weeks, or work in a slow-release fertilizer at planting time. Sweet peas are heavy feeders.
• The Sweet Pea plant benefits from deadheading, but leave a few flowers at the end of theseason to seed for next year.

Sweet Pea Plant Care

• Plant Sweet Peas in an area that gets good air circulation.
• Water early in the day so the leaves are dry by nightfall; wet leaves are a magnet for fungus.
• Do not over fertilize or you’ll wind up with very deep green leaves but few flowers.
• Alternatively,organic fertilizers are also excellent for Sweet Peas. Additional mulching with composted manure will help retain soil moisture and provide nutrients for strong plant growth and flowering.
• If the blooms are not cut regularly, deadhead the plant as soon as flowers fade. Allowing the plant to produce seedpods will reduce overall flower production.
• Removing spent blooms will ensure more blooms.
• Do not grow sweet peas where other legumes are growing or grew last year.

Gifting Tip

Sweet Pea is the most popular gifting option world over, but don’t let this deter you into thinking that it will be a common gifting idea. Due to its availability in numerous colors and its ability to be styled into any kind of floral arrangement, it has immense scope for original, innovative arrangements every time.

Flax – Perennial, Linum Perenne Lewsii

Perennial, Linum Perenne Lewsii

Flax, is it a flower? Is it a vegetable? Is it medicinal, and therefore, a herb?  It’s all of this, and more!

• Flax is one of those versatile plants that has many uses: As a flower, for health and medicinal use, a grain crop, making fabrics, and much more. Most home gardeners view Flax as one of the very few “True Blue” flowers. To early American Pilgrims, flax was a food staple, put clothes on their back, and for many other uses.
•  Flax originated in India. It has been used for thousands of years. Pilgrims brought Flax to America. They used the seed for food and nutrition, and to make linseed oil. They used the fibers of the long, thin stems to make clothing, linen and lace. It was also used to make rope, twine, and a variety of other items.
•  Today, Flax is largely grown commercially in the U.S. to make Linseed Oil. Home gardeners highly value the real blue color of the flowers. Some home gardeners harvest the seed for consumption, especially in herbal teas.
•  Plants  have clumps of delicate foliage, that give way to true blue flowers in the summer. Grow them in groups for the best effect. They are commonly used as a wildflower. Try them in containers, too.
• Did you Know? Common flax is the national flower of Belarus.
• Plant Height: 18″ – 30″

Medicinal Uses:

The medicinal uses of Flax are broad. It contains Omega-3, a fatty acid that helps fight many diseases. Medicinal uses include:

• Promotes heart health

• Lowers cholesterol

• Protects against strokes

• Lowers blood pressure

• Used for constipation

• Helps guard against breast cancer and other cancers

As a healthy source of food and nutrition, flax seeds:

•  Are used in herbal teas

• Can be ground into a low carb meal for making breads and doughs.

• The oil from the seeds makes linseed oil, and can be used in cooking.

• Sprouts are used in salads

  Planting and Propagation:

• Flax are grown from seeds. Flax seeds can be directly seeded into your flower garden, or seeded indoors for transplanting later. Sow seeds early in the season and cover lightly with 1/8″ of fine garden or potting soil.  Keep soil lightly moist during the germination period.
• Spring sown plants will not bloom until the next year.
• Try sowing seeds early in the  fall, and they will bloom the next spring.
• Ideal plant spacing is 10″ -12″.  The plants tolerate a little crowding.
• Days to Germination: 20 – 30

 How to Grow Flax Plants:

• Grow Flax in full sun. They prefer rich soil. Mix in compost when planting, if your soil is not rich. Keep the soil moist, not wet. Add a general purpose fertilizer when planting them, then once a month after that.
• Flax is easy to grow. As wildflowers, they require little care. In the home garden, mulch around them to help retain soil moisture, and to keep the weeds down. Prune plants to promote good air circulation.
• Be health smart…… After the flowers have bloomed, harvest the seeds and use them for herbal or culinary purposes.
• Flowers Bloom: Spring and Summer

Insect and Disease:

• Flax is susceptible to a wide variety of fungal diseases, blights and rusts.  Pruning plants to increase air circulation, keeping water off the plant, and promoting overall health will help to minimize plant disease. Treat as needed with a fungicide.

Forget Me Not

Forget-me-not refers to the plants of the genus Myosotis. This genus comes under the family Boraginaceae. There are roughly 50 species within this genus. There exists variation within the genus. However, one similarity that can be noticed is that most of the members of this species have flat blue flowers with five petals growing thickly on stems. They grow in a slightly disorderly fashion.

A legend about the origin of the name forget-me-not is as follows. Once a medieval knight and his lady-love were walking beside a river. The knight held a bouquet in his hands. Because of the weight of the armor, he fell into the water. According to the legend, he threw the bouquet at her shouting forget-me-not. There is a Christian religious legend according to which the child Jesus Christ created forget-me-nots so that the generations to come would be able to see him and his mother Mary, on whose lap he was sitting.

Scientific Classification

Kingdom

Plantae

Division

Magnoliophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

not currently assigned (incertae sedis)

Family

Boraginaceae

Genus

Myosotis

Facts about forget-me-not

• Forget-me-nots flower in spring.
• A large number of species that come under the forget-me-not category are native to New Zealand.
• A few European Species were introduced in the temperate regions of America, Asia, and Europe.
• Forget-me-not is the state flower of the American state of Alaska.
• Forget me not plants can be annual, in the sense that their life last for one year or it can be perennial, in the sense that their life – namely, germination, flowering, and death take more than two years.

How to Grow Forget-Me-Not

• Plant the seeds in early spring. The ground should be made ready for the forget me not seeds to be planted.
• The preparation should be done by mixing the soil with decomposed organic material (compost) because the plants grow best in such soil.
• While planting seedlings, you do not have to be particularly careful about maintaining some distance between them because forget me nots grow well even if there is a crowd.
• Trim the blooms that are wasted away in order to guard against reseeding.
• When plants begin to wear away in late summer, remove them.

Violet

Violets (Viola) are a genus of Spring flowering plants in the family Violaceae. There are around 400-500 species of Violets in the genus. Violets are native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere and are also distributed in Hawaii, Australasia, and the Andes in South America. Violets are found in moist and slightly shaded conditions such as hedgerows.

The word ‘Violet’ comes from the Latin name ‘Viola’. Ordinary Violets, Common Blue Violets, Sweet violets and Garden violets are some of the popular varieties of violets. Most Violets are small perennial plants, but a few are annual plants and some are small shrubs.

Kingdom

Plantae

Division

Magnoliophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Malpighiales

Family

Violaceae

Genus

Viola

Violets typically have heart-shaped leaves, and asymmetrical flowers. The shape of the petals defines many species, for example, some Violets have a spur at the end of each petal. Flower colors vary among the Violets, many of which are violet as their name suggests, and some are blue, yellow, white and cream. Some are bicolored, often blue and yellow.

Facts about Violets

• True Violets have been known for centuries with the ancient Greeks cultivating them about 500 BC or earlier. Both the Greeks and the Romans used Violets for all sorts of things such as herbal remedies, wine (‘Vinum Violatum’), to sweeten food and for festivals.
• Strictly, Sweet violets, Bedding Violas and Pansies are all classified as “violas”. Sweet Violets descended from the European wild sweet violet, Viola odorata. Bedding Violas (the flower that we usually call “violas”) were hybridized from pansies and Viola cornuta. Pansies developed from the wild violas, Viola lutea and Viola tricolor (“johnny-jump-up”).
• Violets are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species.
• Crossings of a number of plants were developed and these were known as the ‘Quatre saisons’ violets. Along with the so-called ‘Russian Violet’ introduced in the latter part of the 19th century, these horticultural efforts gave us the Violets we grow today.
• The Blue violet is common to the United States, growing from Maine to Florida.
• The Ancient Greeks considered the Violet a symbol of fertility and love; they used it in love potions. Pliny recommended that a garland of violets be worn above the head to ward off headaches and dizzy spells.
• The genus includes the Dog Violets, a group of scentless species which are the commonest violets in many areas; the Sweet Violet, Viola odorata (named from its sweet scent) and many other species whose common name includes the word “Violet”. Several species are known as Pansies.
• The purple violet/Wood Violet/ blue prairie Violet/Prairie blue Violet/hooded blue Violet/meadow blue Violet/and butterfly Violet, is very popular in the eastern United States and is Wisconsin’s State Flower.
• Violets should not be taken internally in large doses. Violet flowers are edible, used in medicines, as a laxative, and the flowers are candied for decoration in jellies, etc.

True Violets

Saintpaulia is a genus comprising African violets, which are not true Violets. The main differences between African Violets and True violets are:

• African violets are mainly grown as houseplants. They are shallow rooting plants that enjoy a good amount of light as long as it is in the shade. True violets are deep-rooting outdoor plants that thrive in partial shade to full sun.
• African violets have fleshy downy leaves and produce throughout the summer, five-petalled flowers, usually with a distinct eye while true violets have large to small heart shaped leaves, sometimes smooth, sometimes with varying degrees of hairiness. The flowers are produced from September through to March and most, apart from the Parma Violets, which are frost tolerant.

 

Varieties of Violets

• Viola arvensis – Field Pansy
• Viola biflora – Yellow Wood Violet or Twoflower Violet
• Viola canina – Heath Dog Violet
• Viola hirta – Hairy Violet
• Viola odorata – Sweet Violet
• Viola pedunculata – Yellow Pansy
• Viola riviniana – Common Dog Violet
• Viola tricolor – Wild Pansy or Heart’s-ease
• Viola adunca – Early Blue Violet
• Viola nephrophylla – Northern Bog Violet
• Viola pedatifida – Crowfoot Violet
• Viola pubescens – Downy Yellow Violet
• Viola rugulosa – Western Canada Violet

Growing Violets

Violets are easily cultivated through root cuttings or seeds.

• Violets are best grown in the dappled shade of deciduous trees thus allowing full winter and spring sunshine.
• Choose a site with full sun to light shade. Violets also like well-drained, fairly rich soil, so work in a spadeful or two of compost at planting time for best results.
• Plant Violets in early spring, four to six weeks before your region’s last frost date.
• Plant 4 to 8 inches apart, depending on the variety.
• Mulch to keep roots cooler longer.
• Water only moderately. Although they love cool conditions, Violets don’t need huge amounts of water.
• Pinch off spent blooms to promote longer flowering.
• Fertilize once after blooming starts.

Violet Plant Care

Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in summer. Violets should receive extra moisture in dry weather, as Red Spider Mite is liable to attack if they are allowed to get parched. Spraying with a hose is helpful. Occasional feeding with soot water or liquid manure and even a top dressing of blood or bone is helpful for good blooms.

Division during the autumn or just after flowering. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Keep runners picked off during the growing season. This will encourage good sized flowers.

Rose

Roses for the longest time have enjoyed the honor of being the most popular flowers in the world. The reason for popularity of the rose flower may be its wide variety in terms of color, size, fragrance and other attributes.

Kingdom: Plantae

Division:Magnoliophyta

Class:Magnoliopsida

Order:Rosales

Family:Rosaceae

Subfamily:Rosoideae

Genus:Rosa

The rose has been a symbol of love, beauty, even war and politics from way back in time. The variety, colour and even number of Roses carry symbolic meanings. The Rose is most popularly known as the flower of love, particularly Red Rose.

Roses have been the most popular choice of flowers for the purpose of gifting across the world. They also act as a great addition to home and office decor. A bunch of roses or even a single rose works wonders aesthetically and considerably enlivens a place. Besides fresh cut roses, artificial flowers like silk roses in different colors are also widely used as decoration.

Some Interesting Facts About Roses

• The birthplace of the cultivated Rose was probably Northern Persia, on the Caspian, or Faristan on the Gulf of Persia.
• Historically, the oldest Rose fossils have been found in Colorado, dating back to more than 35 million years ago.
• Roses were considered the most sacred flowers in ancient Egypt and were used as offerings for the Goddess Isis. Roses have also been found in Egyptian tombs, where they were formed into funeral wreaths.
• Confucius, 551 BC to 479 BC, reported that the Imperial Chinese library had many books on Roses.
• Ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia (in the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley) mentioned Roses in a cuneiform tablet (a system of writing) written in approximately 2860 BC.
• The English were already cultivating and hybridizing Roses in the 15th Century when the English War of Roses took place. The winner of the war, Tudor Henry VII, created the Rose of England (Tudor Rose) by crossbreeding other Roses.
• While no Black Rose yet exists, there are some of such a deep Red color as to suggest Black.
• Roses are universal and grown across the world.
• The Netherlands is the world’s leading exporter of Roses.

The Netherlands, with about 8000 hectares of land under Rose cultivation, is the global leader in Rose cultivation. 54 per cent (about 5000 hectares) of the cultivated land in Ecuador is under Rose cultivation!! Zambia, a small nation, had 80 per cent of its cultivated land under Roses.

Classification of Roses

Broadly, Roses are divided into three classes-

Species Roses

Species Roses are often called Wild Species Roses. Species Roses often have relatively simple, 5-petaled flowers followed by very colorful hips that last well into the winter, providing food for birds and winter color.

The most popular Rose species for sale today is Rosa rugosa owing to its superior hardiness, disease resistance, and extremely easy maintenance. Species roses are widely hybridized. Wild Species Roses include many different varieties. Wild Species Roses usually bloom once in the summer.

Old Garden Roses

Old Garden Roses have a delicate beauty and wonderful perfume, not often found in modern hybrid tea roses. Old Garden Roses are a diverse group from the those with a wonderful fragrance and great winter hardiness to the tender and lovely tea roses, which are best suited for warm climates.

Old Garden Roses comprise a multifaceted group that in general are easy to grow, disease-resistant and winter-hardy. Old Garden Roses grow in several shrub and vine sizes. Although colors do vary, this class of Roses are usually white or pastel in color. These “antique Roses” are generally preferred for lawns and home gardens. Several groupings of Roses classified as Old Garden Roses are China Roses, Tea Roses, Moss Roses, Damask Roses, Bourbon Roses, etc.

Modern Roses

Any Rose identified after 1867, is considered a Modern Rose.

Old Garden Roses are the predecessors of Modern Roses. This group of Roses are very popular. The Modern Rose is the result of crossbreeding the hybrid tea with the polyanthus (a variety of primrose).

The colors of Modern Roses are varied, rich and vibrant. The most popular roses found in the class of Modern Roses are the Hybrid Tea Roses, Floribunda Roses, and Grandiflora Roses. Although Modern Roses are adored by florists and gardeners, they do require proper care, and do not adapt well to colder environments.

Popular Hybrid Varieties of Roses

Species Involved	Hybrid Product
Hybrid Perpetual Rose and Chinese Tea Rose	Hybrid Tea Rose
Hybrid Perpetual Rose and Australian Brier Rose	Yellow Permet Rose
R. multiflora and R. chinensis	Hybrid/Dwarf Polyanthas or Poly Pompon roses
Hybrid Tea Rose and Floribundas	Grandifloras
R. wichuriana, R. multiflora & Hybrid Tea Rose	Dorothy Perkins, American Pillar, Excelsa
R. canina and R. gallica	Albas
R. phoenica and R. gallica	Damaskas Rose
R. damascena and R. alba	Centifolia Rose
Autumn Damask Rose and China Rose	Bourbons

Growing Roses

• Roses may be grown in any well-drained soil with optimum sunlight.
• Most Rose varieties are grown by budding on an understock (lower portion of a plant) propagated from seeds or cuttings. Order rose seeds online and let your garden be filled with the marvellous color and fragrance of roses.
• Clay soils, warm temperatures are always preferred, and the rose plants grow best when not set among other plants.
• Cow manure is the preferred fertilizer for Rose cultivation, but other organic fertilizers, especially composts, are also used.
• Rose plants usually require severe pruning, which must be adapted to the intended use of the flowers.
• Trim off all broken and bruised roots on the Rose plant, cut top growth back to 6 to 8 inches.
• Dig planting holes at least 6 inches deeper to accommodate the roots of the Rose plant without crowding or bending.
• Mix 1 tablespoonful of fertilizer with the soil placed over the drainage material.
• Cover this mixture with plain soil, bringing the level to desired planting depth.
• Make a mound in the center to receive the Rose plant.
• Set Rose plant roots over this mound, spread the roots, and fill in with soil.
• Firm the soil tightly 2 or 3 times while filling the hole.

It is extremely easy to buy rose plants online if you do not wish to go to the trouble of actually planting one. They usually come with a care manual and some plant food. An already flowering plant in a lovely container also makes a great gift item. The blooms stay longer and after they fade there is always the next flowering, thus providing the receiver with a lasting and beautiful gift.

Noisette Roses are the only Roses that originated in the United States of America.

Rose Plant Care

• When watering Roses, soak the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches, do not merely sprinkle.
• When it comes to fertilizing your roses, Provide a balanced diet to your roses. See what your plant is deficient in and try to include them in the fertilizer. Timing is also an important part to maximize the benefit of your fertilizer so that the nutrients are available to the plant when it needs it most during the active growing and blooming stage.Order your rose fertilizer now to enhance the vigor of blooming in your roses.
• Mulching during the summer will eliminate weeds amonf Rose plants. Mulches should be applied 2 or 3 weeks before the Roses come into bloom.
• Winter mulching with straw, peat moss, or other material is advisable. This mulch regulates the soil temperature and tempers the effects of freezing and thawing on thr Roses.
• Pull soil up around each Rose plant to a height of about 6 inches after the first frost.

Foolproof Guide to Growing Roses by Field Roebuck is a comprehensive book on growing roses ideal for would-be growers who were always afraid of roses, as well as for gardeners who already grow these beautiful flowers and want to learn more.