A very dramatic plant to have in the back border as it can reach a height of 72 inches. Sometimes called Indian Teasel or Fuller's Teasel, it has comb-like flower heads that were used in the wool industry to bring up the nap in woolen cloth. It is also an excellent cut flower for drying. It is widely used in floral arrangements and crafts.
Teasel plants will perform well in sunny areas with well-drained soil. Once established they need very little care and are fairly drought tolerant. Deer do not bother the Fuller's Teasel plant. The Teasel flowers are very popular with bees, birds and hummingbirds who love the flowers and seeds.
Teasels are considered a biennial. The first year they will not produce a bloom, but the second year, tall spikes will form with flower heads that are 4 inches, cylindrical-shaped and made up of a mass of tiny flowers. The flowers are usually a lavender color and bloom in a band from the bottom of the flower head to the top, lasting about a month.
To keep a patch of Teasel plants in the garden, let a few of the flower heads go to seed. The Teasel flower seeds will drop and self-sow.
FA103 Honesty Plant ( Lunaria annua )
Lunaria annua, commonly called silver dollar, dollar plant, money plant, moonwort, honesty and lunaria, is a tall, hairy-stemmed biennial that is native to southeastern Europe and western Asia. It has been widely planted in North America, and over time has escaped gardens and naturalized in many parts of the U. S. and southern Canada.
Plants grow to 2-3' tall clad with alternate to opposite, oval to heart-shaped, serrated, medium green leaves that are pointed at the tip. Flowers give way in mid-summer to sprays of flattened, paper-thin, silver-dollar sized fruit (silicles to 2" wide) which become translucent with maturity. As the common name suggests, the fruits are the most noteworthy ornamental feature of this plant. Hortus Third describes a fruit as "a flat, oblong-elliptic to nearly orbicular silicle with satiny, paper-white septum." Fruit-laden stems are valued for dried arrangements. Remove stems from the garden just as the green fruit color disappears and bring them inside for hanging upside down to dry.
Grows 24 inches tall, a perennial hardy to zone 3.
3335 Billy Buttons ( Craspedia Globosa )
For gardeners who are looking for rare and new flower varieties to add to their summer display, look no further than Billy Buttons, a very unique blooming plant that is a perennial wildflower native to New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania.
The brilliant yellow hue of these 1 inch globes make them a striking addition to the flower garden. Commonly known as Billy Button or Drumstick, Craspedia is considered a half-hardy annual here in the United States. It generally blooms all summer long, and is very popular for cutting and drying. The flower heads are tough and durable making an exceptional dried flower.
Sow seeds indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost is expected. Sow the flower seeds on the surface and lightly cover with peat moss or sand. The flower seeds need light for germination. Transplant seedlings when there are at least 2 sets of true leaves. They prefer full sun and gritty, well-drained soil. Plants are tolerant of poor soil and drought.
Seed can also be sown directly outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. Prepare a seed bed with loosed soil and weed free, sow the seeds directly on the surface and lightly sprinkle peat moss or sand on top. Keep the flower seeds moist until germination.
AW74 Broomcorn, Mixed Highlights
Brooms are made from a plant called broomcorn. Broomcorn is a type of sorghum plant. The tassels at the very top of the plant are what broom makers use to make brooms after the seeds have been removed. You can grow broomcorn for livestock feed and make brooms, whiskbrooms and other items from the sturdy seed heads and stalks.
The best broomcorn selection we've seen that includes colors of red, natural, tan, cordevan and yellow.
Harvest when straw is still streaked with green and kernals are still soft to avoid heads shattering.
D2266CD Kobold Dwarf Goblin Blazing Star ( Liatris spicata )
Dwarf, dense violet spikes in early summer, grassy foliage, striking appearence.
A hardy perennial plant reaching only 16" tall ft.with rosy purple spikes
of flowers reaching 15" in length. Excellent for dried or
cutflower arrangements.
FB163 Sweet Annie ( Artemisa annua )
An excellent multi use herb for all gardens. A graceful and sweetly fragrant annual with tall stems 4'-7' tall, with fine bright green ferny foliage. Though most often grown for fresh and dried arrangements and wreath making (it holds color and fragrance very well) it also makes a graceful accent in the back of a flowerbed or a pretty quick screen, especially behind other container plantings. "Sweet Annie" has a wide variety of uses both medicinal and for handcrafting and makes a nice addition to potpourri and sachets.
This is a tall ferny green plant that grows to over seven feet high and four feet wide in one year! Excellent for back borders or any area that you want to give a tropical look and feel. Sweet Annie has thick strong woody stems and branches out like a shrub. The flowers are tiny and olive green and can't really be seen unless you look hard. However sweet Annie is grown for it's foliage and mostly for it's lovely aromatic scent which can fill the whole garden when the breeze rustles it branches. It has been used for centuries in it's dried form in wreaths and other aroma projects.
Sweet Annie is one of the best natural air fresheners around. Have a aroma you want to get rid of? Just wave a spring of Sweet Annie in the air and it freshens the whole area with a sweet appealing smell illuminating anything else. Don't use air fresheners with unknown chemical ingredients use a natural herb to do the work for you. The plant dries very well and the will last for years all you have to do is gently move a piece and the aroma bursts forth. It is excellent for use in wreaths and other aroma projects.
Germination is about 50 percent, normal for this variety.