Sunflowers

(Helianthus annuus)

Appearance
Towering overhead, sunflowers may resemble their namesake, but their name actually comes from their ability to keep their “face” turned toward the sun as it moves across the sky. Everyone recognizes a conventional sunflower with its huge dark disk surrounded by yellow petals, set atop a sturdy stalk that may reach over eight feet in height. Newer cultivars, however, may not be so familiar. Breeders have developed shorter plants (as low as two feet) and an expanded palette of hues ranging from mahogany through orange to lemon yellow, white, and even a soft rose. Many types sport more than one color.

Cultivation
Sunflowers are easily grown from their large seeds, making them an excellent choice for a child’s garden. Pick a site that receives full sun, and amend the soil with plenty of compost. Sow around mid-May, covering seeds with a half inch of fine soil, and keep the ground moist until they sprout. Plants prefer regular irrigation, but can handle some drying. Mulch to keep the soil evenly damp and to reduce weeding.

 

Calibrachoa

Appearance
Imagine a petite petunia with intensely-colored, trumpet-shaped blossoms in shades such as magenta, violet, or copper. Flowers smother the slightly fuzzy, gray-green leaves from late spring until the first hard frost. Prolific flowering means that new flowers quickly replace those damaged by hail, a major asset in our area. Mature plants reach about eighteen inches in width and are less than a foot high. A relative newcomer on the garden scene, Calibrachoa has already gained a place of honor among annual flowers.

 

Horned Poppies

Red Horned Poppy – Glaucium grandiflorum (syn: G. corniculatum)

Appearance
Huge, eye-popping flowers, with silky petals in shades of yellow to red, are a great reason to grow these unusual poppy relatives. The cup-shaped blossoms are supported by short stems rising from a basal clump of silver-green leaves about a foot wide and high. (Some species branch more than others.) Seed pods sport spiny “horns,” giving the plant its common name. Native to the eastern Mediterranean, Horned Poppies are listed as noxious weeds in some states (happily, not Colorado). Interestingly, the plants contain the chemical glaucine, which is used medically (and rarely as a recreational hallucinogenic drug—not recommended).

Cultivation
Horned poppies are grown from seeds or started seedlings. While the seedlings will overwinter in mild areas (to USDA zone 6), here it’s best to start them in early spring. Choose a spot in full sun. Soil must be well-drained for these xeric plants. Lightly cover the seeds, which can take a while to germinate. Once plants reach blooming size, they will continue to flower until seeds are formed or until frost. Removing spent blooms prolongs flowering, but if you want more plants next year, be sure to let some seed pods ripen. Pick them and scatter the seeds where you want plants to grow next season. A pea gravel mulch will keep weeds in check, mitigate soil temperatures and moisture levels, and encourage self-seeding.

 

Love-in-a-Mist

Appearance
Unique among garden flowers, Love-in-a-mist (Nigella damascene) is sure to catch your eye with its delicate sky-blue flowers (they also come in pink and white) floating in a nest of soft green spines.  Branching clumps of ferny green foliage grow about fifteen inches high, providing the perfect backdrop for the abundant two-inch blooms. The flowers are followed by unusual balloon-shaped seedpods with little “horns” that give the plant their other common name: Devil-in-a-bush.

Cultivation
Sow these easy-to-grow annuals outside in full sun and well-drained garden soil. Seeds can take several weeks to sprout, so be patient. Putting the seeds in the refrigerator for a week improves germination. Seedlings do not transplant well due to their long tap root. However, that root sustains plants through periods of drought; the gardener need only provide deep watering once a week. Add some all-purpose fertilizer for maximum bloom. If the seeds are allowed to mature on the plant, Love-in-a-mist will readily self-seed.

Landscape Use
In cultivation for over 400 years, both the flowers and seedpods are frequently added to dried arrangements, and the aromatic seeds are used as both a spice and a medicine.

Love-in-a-mist is ideally suited for an old-fashioned cottage garden. Try combining the silvery-blue blooms with silver-foliaged plants such as Lamb’s Ears (Stachys byzantina) or one of the Artemisias, or with other pastel hued flowers—perhaps pink or white perennial geraniums. The airy foliage is an excellent gap-filler in a flower border, and also combines well in containers.

Article and photos by Leslie Holzmann, Certified Colorado Gardener

 

Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)

Appearance

The petite, sky-blue flowers of forget-me-nots have charmed gardeners for ages. Also available in delicate pink or white, the blossoms are suspended by wiry stems above crinkled, heart-shaped leaves of forest green. The plants form a groundcover six to twelve inches high and two feet wide. Even though the species is native to Europe, it has naturalized in North America to the extent that the forget-me-not is the state flower of Alaska.

Cultivation

While the plants are hardy from USDA zones 4 to 8, they may be perennial, biennial, or even annuals. In any case, forget-me-nots reseed abundantly and will renew themselves indefinitely provided their needs are met. Naturally growing along streams or at the edge of ponds, this woodland species prefers cool, damp conditions. Soil should be rich in humus, so dig in plenty of organic matter before planting. Plants do best in the shade, especially as the weather warms; intense high-altitude sunlight will burn leaves.

Landscape Use

Forget-me-nots bloom at about the same time as mid-season tulips, and make a beautiful underplanting that will hide the bulbs’ fading foliage. Naturalize them in woodland gardens, under trees, and in any informal garden that receives regular watering.

Article and photo by Leslie Holzmann, Certified Colorado Gardener.