The dianthus plant is the quintessential cottage flower. Dianthus is treasured for its grasslike, blue-green foliage and abundant starry flowers, which are often spicily fragrant. Dianthus plants range from tiny creeping groundcovers to 30-inch-tall cut flowers, which are a favorite with florists. Plants are often pink in color, and the petals have a fringed look […]
While these plants don’t have the most interesting or showy blooms, they easily make up for it with their stunning, jewel-tone foliage. Alternanthera make a wonderful accent in any garden setting and can even work well as showy houseplants. Also called Joseph’s coat, plant them in full sun for the best and brightest foliage colors.
Campanula are such easy-to-grow plants and are perfect for a low-maintenance cottage garden. The blossoms are generally composed of five petals fused at the base, creating the trademark bell shape. Depending on the variety, sometimes these bells face upward on little mats of foliage, or they may dangle in the breeze, suspended in pendulous clusters.
Few flowers offer such an interesting form and variety of hues as the fuchsia. The unique blossoms resemble layered swirling, brightly colored skirts. These plants can bloom throughout the growing season and have the added benefit of attracting hummingbirds. Plant them in a hanging basket near a garden bench to attract the birds.
Easy, always fresh, and always eye-catching, Leucanthemum is a longtime favorite. All cultivars produce white daisy flowers in various degrees of doubleness and size. The sturdy stems and long vase life make the flowers unbeatable for cutting. Leucanthemum thrives in well-drained, not overly rich soil. Taller sorts may need staking.
Juncus grass is a great annual for any combo or landscape. Juncus grass can be planted in any landscape to create a nice textured look. Plant this with any other spring, summer or fall annuals to have a nice fresh look during the growing season.
Neither a calla nor a lily, the calla lily—which grows 24 to 36 inches tall—is part of the Jack-in-the-pulpit family. Its trumpet-shape flowers and arrowhead-shape leaves rise directly from rhizomes—no stems needed. This plant helps stretch out the color show in your backyard. When early summer perennials begin to fade, these plants stand ready to
Daylilies are some of the easiest perennials to grow, filling almost any space in the garden with a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. The flowers last only one day for most plants (hence the name), you may want to grow lots of different varieties for a long-term display of color. Or look for reblooming
Impatiens provide loads of color with little effort in shady places in the garden. Most commonly, impatiens come in softer pastel shades, but some species come in warm colors like yellow, coral, and orange as well. Some varieties also offer double flowers that look almost like mini roses. With their quick growth habit, impatiens are
A great long-lasting color plant, Crossandra can bloom almost nonstop all year long in the right conditions. In tropical climates, these heat- and humidity-loving plants put on quite the show with their spikes of bright orange, yellow, salmon, or pink blooms. They can also make wonderful houseplants with their glossy, deep green foliage that looks