Facts about the marigold flowerWritten by Linda Paquette
It’s a well known fact that marigold flower is one of favorites in home garden, but as well as an attractive and useful bedding plant, marigold has enjoyed continued use for culinary, medicinal, and cosmetic purposes as well. 1.The most common types of marigold are wild marsh marigold, tall African marigold, and robust French marigold. African and French cultivars frequently are hybrid to sustain longer bloom and soften their pungent aroma. The resulting plant is called a triploid marigold, which is commonly called mule marigold because of its poor ability to produce seeds. 2.Latin for common or marsh marigold is Calendula officinalis, christened as such because ancient Romans noticed that it bloomed on first, or calends, of every month. 3.For centuries, it was believed that marigold opened in morning and closed at night. This trait has often been mentioned in literature, most notably by Shakespeare in “A Winter’s Tale” where he wrote,
| | Blue Wild Flowers for Your GardenWritten by Kathy Burns-Millyard
Planting wild flowers in your garden, or simply scattering wild flower seeds around an area of your yard are both ways to take advantage of Mother Nature's treasured gifts. Wild flowers are carefree, colorful, and tend to attract bees, butterflys and birds. So planting wild flowers not only gives you an easy maintenance flower garden... it also promises to be a constant source of interesting activity throughout year.The following wild flowers are blue to purple in color, and some say this is a favorite color of bees. VIRGINIA or COMMON DAY-FLOWER (Commelina Virginica) - Spiderwort family The Day Flower has blue, one inch wide or smaller flowers which tend to be irregular. The flowers are grouped at end of stem, and are upheld by long leaf-like bracts. The leaves are lance-shaped and 3-5 inches long. The upper leaves form like a hood of sorts about flower. These wild flowers prefer moist, shady ground and flower from June through September. The day flower tends to open in morning and looking somewhat "alert". In afternoon, or after bees have visited and fertilized it, petals roll up and quickly wilt into a wet, shapeless mass which will leave a sticky blue fluid on your fingers if you touch it. SPIDERWORT; WIDOW'S or JOB'S TEARS (Tradescantia Virginiana) - Spiderwort family The Spiderwort's flowers are purplish blue in color but on rare occasion they can be white. There's usually several flowers about 1-2 inches wide, and usually contain clusters of drooping buds between long, blade-like bracts at end. This one can grow from 8-36 inches tall, and has long blade-like leaves. It prefers rich, moist woods, thickets or garden space, and it flowers from May through August.
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