German Chamomile is a must-have herb if you enjoy drinking hot or cold teas. The flowers are a staple ingredient in herbal tea concoctions, where they have a soothing, calming effect and a faintly fruity, sweet flavor. They are also used in shampoos and hair rinses to lighten blond hair.
Your grandmother probably grew this splendid Love-Lies-Bleeding in her annual bed, and we are delighted to be able to offer this heirloom seed once again to American gardens! All summer long (and sometimes even into fall!) you'll be regaled with bold, blood-red blooms that "drip" in weeping stems up to 2 feet long! Terrific for fresh and dried arrangements, this Amaranthus is a conversation piece and a fine source of vertical texture for your sunny annual bed or border! The flowers really stand
If you love Sunflower seeds fresh from the garden -or if you'd like to attract the birds that feast on these delectable treats -Russian Mammoth is the Sunflower you MUST grow. Not only are the seeds delicious, but the flowers are lovely, reaching up to 14 inches wide! Russian Mammoth is an heirloom variety and is a very heat- and drought-resistant variety. Direct-sow these seeds long after the ground has warmed up in spring.
This foolproof Monarda mix boasts scented flowers and foliage, for a dramatic impact in the garden or vase. The blooms of bright red, scarlet, pink, and salmon are as long-lasting as they are dramatic, heralding the arrival of midsummer to the garden. Nothing brings in the butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees like Monarda, and these vigorous, bushy 2- to 4-foot plants bloom profusely, with up to 20 long stems per plant. Excellent for cutting! Best in consistently moist soil receiving full sun.
Bring pollinating honeybees into the garden with this lovely and delicious mix of herbs! Selected for their nectar- and pollen-producing ability, they are fragrant and beautiful, not to mention delicious. Just ask the bees! In this mix you get borage, chives, sage, basil, lemon mint, catnip, sweet marjoram, oregano, and creeping thyme. Not only is the mixture marvelously fragrant and attractive to pollinators, it is also useful as a culinary herb garden! All of these herbs can be used in cooking
Calendula is so useful in the garden and the vase. You will find these flowers just indispensible in indoor arrangements, yet the plant is too charming to be relegated to the cutting garden. Instead, set a generous planting in the rear of the sunny to partly-shaded bed or border and pick all the blooms you want over the super-long two-season bloom time! And, of course, it's a big pest-fighter in the vegetable garden, so dress up the greens with some hot color!
ewel-bright tones of violet, golden-yellow, and pure white bedazzle on these merry whiskered blooms! Jump Up Mix is a splendid selection of the best Violas for harsh spring and fall weather. They may be tiny, but they're tough!
Neat in the heat, Janie Yellow is both the earliest and most floriferous French Marigold we know, earning our highest recommendation for garden performance and nonstop beauty! Beginning just 6 weeks after sowing and continuing all summer long, these sunny, 1 1/2- to 1 3/4-inch blooms drape the dwarf 8-inch plants in a soft mantle. Both the blooms and the plant keep their neat shape despite hot weather--this dwarf reaches just 8 inches high, with an exceptionally uniform habit.
It is simply a must-have for the sunny annual bed and your best containers: beautiful, bicolor, double-flowered Hidden Dragon! This fantastic Zinnia fills any spot with rich, changeable color that begins showing less than 3 months after the seeds are sown.
As its name suggest, this plant grows as effortlessly as a weed -- just direct-sow the seeds in fall or early spring and wait for the show! (It will bloom in late summer the first year from a spring sowing, then get onto its regular early summer-til-frost schedule for all subsequent years!) The flowers are bright orange, held upright in flattish clusters 3 to 4 inches wide. Filled with nectar, they are manna to butterflies and other pollinators!
It's not only the most brilliantly colored Echinacea yet, but it's also the best branched, which means more flowers all season. It doesn't need to be deadheaded to set new buds, so the flowers just keep coming! And it's compact, so you can grow it in a container if you like, or squeeze it into that crowded sunny border.
Lavender angustifolia is one of the richest in essential oils, meaning more fragrance power both fresh and dried. And this 'Rosea' cultivar is the original, first true pink-flowered lavender! Fresh flowers can be crystalized and used in candies and cakes; dried flowers are used in potpourris and satchets; oils are used in creams and perfumes. And these are only some of the more common uses - imagination can create endless more!
Why can't all heirloom varieties be as easy to grow and drop-dead gorgeous as Tiger Eyes? This fabulous French Marigold surprises and delights with big, bold "eyes" of deepest red and brightest yellow all summer long -- on nifty little plants just a foot high and wide! If you love flowers (or want to protect your Tomatoes and other veggies from root knot nematodes), you MUST treat yourself to Tiger Eyes!