Coleus is loved for its dramatically variegated Leaves

A perennial flower grown as a tender annual, coleus is loved for its dramatically variegated leaves in shades of green, red, yellow, and white. Bothe shapes are markings and the shapes of the leaves vary from variety to variety and can be effective in mixture or in plantings of one color. They are often used in planters, pots and window boxes as well as in beds. Tall varieties grow as tall as three feet, shorter ones as low as six inches. Well, to grow coleus, it is best to buy started plants in the colors and leaf from you desire. Growing coleus from seed is slow. If you want to try it, sow indoors as early as ten weeks before the last expected frost. Sprinkle the tiny seeds on top of the soil and gently press them into it rather than covering them, and keep the soil moist and war during germination. Transplant seedlings into the permanent location after danger of frost have passed. Coleus plants should be spaced at least a foot apart; they can grow quite broad. Young plants can be pinched to make them compact and bushy. A Warm weather plant, coleus can grow in full sun in some climates, but part shade will prevent wilting in hot weather and produce stronger colors. Light mulch will help keep the soil moist, but don’t mound the mulch around the plants stems. 

 Source: Charismatic Planet

Cosmos Flower is Ideal for the back of your Garden

The most common varieties are hybrids of Cosmos bipinnatus, a half hardy annual with daisylike flowers sometimes as large as four inches across, with the beautiful shades of pink and red or white. Moreover, plants have airy, threadlike foliage and usually grow about four feet tall, but sometimes taller (the sensation hybrids are shorter. They’re ideal for the back of the annual garden. It is also use them to fill in between clumps of tall perennials such as asters and phlox. Hybrids of C. Further, sulphurous are shorter; normally around three feet and have yellow, red or orange flowers that are normally around two inches across and sometimes double as well. They are tender annuals. This is the preferred species for very hot climates. If you have never tried this type of cosmos you are missing a great flower. However, plants have airy but bushy foliage and bloom very profusely. 

Well, if you want to grow cosmos flower, then you’ve to sow seeds outdoors after the last expected frost, or indoors about six weeks before. Therefore, for optimum bloom plant in full sun or part shade in soil that is not too rich or too moist. Plant at least 12 inches apart. Tall varieties often need staking, but can be pinched if you want shorter plants and want more bloom.  Source: Charismatic Planet

Petunia is Small Flower Comes in Several Shapes and Colors

Petunias are half hardy annuals and are related to the potato and other members of the nightshade family. Their familiar trumpet shaped flowers come in several shapes. Moreover sizes and colors, from the old fashioned single flowers to modern hybrids that are striped, double ruffled and sometimes very large at least four inches across for the grandifloras. The new multiflora petunias are small and single and bloom very profusely they are also disease resistant. Since petunias make compact plants with masses of color, they are excellent in flower borders. We find that more modest, simpler petunias are less decimated by heavy rainstorms than the more flamboyant ones; the latter, though are fine as container plants in sheltered locations. The trailing petunias, such as the grandifloras, are especially effective in pots, planters and boxes. Petunia colors are virtually unlimited; there are even striped, bicolored ones. Height ranges from six inches dwarfs to 18 inches full size plants. 

 How to Grow Petunia

Well, you need to sow seeds indoors eight to ten weeks before the last frost, dropping the tiny seeds onto the soil surface and pressing lightly with the fingers. Keep the seedlings cool, and transplant then carefully to individual peat pots when each seedling has four leaves. They can be set out in the garden 12 to 18 inches apart after danger of frost in fairly fertile soil. Some petunias especially the doubles are slow to grow from seed and you may be better off with nursery grown seedlings. 

Petunias are warm weather plants but they sometimes do poorly during hot weather. If they look straggly and aren’t blooming well, cut them back to a few inches tall and feed them liquid fertilizer that you water in well. Petunias will self-sow readily, but the seedlings will rarely look anything like the parents. 

Poppy or Papaver Orientale

The Oriental poppy’s showy flowers appear for at most a week or two in late spring or early summer in gorgeous shades of red, pink, orange and salmon as well as white. They’re borne on stems 2 ½ -3 feet high above foliage that looks alas, quite messy as summer wears on then disappears. They can be grown in a bed by themselves, or tucked in among later blooming plants whose foliage will fill in and hide that of the poppies. There are several varieties to choose from, including the pink “Helen Elizabeth”, “Barr’s White” and “Carmine”, which is red with black markings. The “Minicap” series will do better than most in hot climates. 

We know, you want to know how to grow poppy? Poppies are planted in late summer or early fall. They rarely need division, and propagation is best done by taking root cuttings several inches long. They prefer sun, except in hot climates where some light shade is best during the hot part of the day. They are not fussy about soil, but poor drainage will cause them to rot, especially during the winter. Mulching should be avoided for the same reason. Source: Charismatic Planet

Diamonds might be forever,but the Red Roses significance of love is much older than that of Diamonds

Diamonds might be forever,but the Red Roses significance of love is much older than that of Diamonds.And a while a Red Roses bouquet now plays a critical role in Valentines Day,anniversaries and married proposals,it is also the ultimate just because gift to express romantic love-its probably safe to say there's no more prevalent or enduring symbol of love and beauty in Western art and literature than Red Roses.The Red Roses began its illustrious symbolic history in Greek and Roman iconography,where it was tied to Aphrodite,or Venus,the Goddess of Love. Later,in early Christian times it became associated with the virtue of Virgin Mary.By the time Shakespeare rolled around it had already become a poetic standard that he,and later Gertrude Stein both famously played with.But through its ins and outs and long,storied history the Red Rose still reigns as the ultimate symbol of passionate and affection. Source: Maribel Leliza

The rose is a flower of love.

The rose is a flower of love. The world has acclaimed it for centuries. pink roses are for love hopeful and expectant. White roses are for love dead or forsaken, but the red roses, ah the red roses are for love triumphant." ~Shinichi Suzuki

The Flying Duck Orchid – An Amazing Anatine Attraction in Australia

Flying Duck Orchid (Caleana) is a small orchid can be found in eastern and southern Australia. This is terrestrial plant features amazing flowers resembling a duck in flight. The flower is also inducing insects, such as male sawflies which pollinate the flower in a process recognized as pseudocopulation. In 1986 this orchid was featured on an Australian postage stamp. The flying duck orchid encountered as a terrestrial herb, up to 50 cm tall. And 2 to 4 flowers grow on the green stem. Furthermore the single leaf appears near the base of the stalk. It is generally prostrate, narrow-lanceolate, to 12 cm long and 8 mm wide, often spotted. The Flying Duck Orchid flower color is normally reddish-brown, almost 15 to 20 mm long. However, in some rare cases, the flower can be greenish with dark spots. The plant is pollinated by insects. A sensitive strap is attached to the flower, which is triggered by vibration. The plant is flowering from September to January occurring from Queensland to South Australia, to even Tasmania, and this plant can be found in eucalyptus woodland in coastal or swampy shrubland and heathland. Typically near the coast, but sporadically at higher altitudes. Due to flower small size, it is a hard to notice in the wild plant. 

The duck orchid is a perpetual but blooms in late spring or early summer.  At up to 45 centimeters in height you might think it would stand out in its natural habitat.  However, because of the reddy-brown colors of both the stem and flowers it moulds in to its Australian surroundings so proficiently that it becomes almost invisible unless you are purposely seeking out its company. The genus Caleana was named after George Caley, an early botanical collector. Latin for "larger", major refers to the contrast with the other smaller Duck orchid, Paracaleana minor. The original specimen of this plant was gathered at Bennelong Point, the present day site of the Sydney Opera House in September, 1803. Moreover in 1810, the species originally appeared in the scientific literature, Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae, authored by the prolific Scottish botanist, Robert Brown.  Therefore; Caleana has been difficult to maintain in cultivation, because plants flower for one or sometimes two years but progressively weaken until they die. If you’ve abruptly been gripped by the desire to own your very own duck orchid then you will be very disappointed.  Regardless of several attempts, this orchid stubbornly refuses to be propagated. This is because the roots of caleana have a symbiotic relationship with the vegetative part of a fungus which only thrives in the part of Australia in which it originates. The fungus supports the plant to stave off infections and without its assistance the duck orchid never lasts long.