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So you think Latin names are difficult, you silly English-speaking person? Hah!Let’s examine first a popular perennial, then the less-familiar story behind its name. GaillardiaA backbone of the sunny garden, “blanket flower” is known and loved world-wide for its array of bright, cheerful, often bicolor blooms.Complex daisy-like flowers feature a plethora of petals with toothy, pointed or fluted tips. Puffy gold/red centers remain attractive and interesting even after petals fade. As you mig

So you think Latin names are difficult, you silly English-speaking person? Hah!Let’s examine first a popular perennial, then the less-familiar story behind its name. GaillardiaA backbone of the sunny garden, “blanket flower” is known and loved world-wide for its array of bright, cheerful, often bicolor blooms.Complex daisy-like flowers feature a plethora of petals with toothy, pointed or fluted tips. Puffy gold/red centers remain attractive and interesting even after petals fade. As you mig

Purple is such a striking hue, Rome once decreed that only the emperor could wear it. But it’s also one of Nature’s favorite colors. She bestowed it lavishly upon numerous genera in the plant kingdom and even some in the animal (think birds and fish).Verbena ‘Homestead Purple’ straddles the annual/perennial line: Technically it’s a perennial, but it’s tender enough that in northern climes, it’s used as an annual and replaced each year.Whichever way works in your zone, it’s a worthy addition to t

We grow so much Pennisetum xadvena 'Rubrum' – bench after bench, whole greenhouses full of it – that we sometimes wonder where it all goes. And then we take a drive, anywhere in North America, and there it is!‘Rubrum’ is so well-known it barely needs an introduction. It’s that red-leaved annual grass you see everywhere you go: In big containers on Main Street, waving its burgundy blades and matching foxtail flowers in landscapes public and private, surrounding flagpoles, flanking entra

When the color experts at Pantone announced their Color of the Year for 2021, they gave us a rare double-header. Illuminating is a cheerful yellow. Ultimate Gray is exactly what it sounds like. They complement one another beautifully: Yellow for sunny optimism, gray for rock-solid reliability. We looked at gray last time, so let’s get sunny and optimistic again! In this episode, we shine an Illuminating beam on the golden blades of two grasses and a Carex (a grass like sedge, not a tru