Drought Tolerant Plants

Tagetes (Tage’tes) are annuals of great decorative value during the summer and autumn months. They are natives of Mexico and South America and belong to the Daisy family, Compositae. The name is said to have been derived from a mythological deity, Tages. These Marigolds are quite distinct from the Pot Marigold or Calendula. See Calendula

One of the greatest drawbacks to successful gardening is badly drained ground. Wherever water lies in the ground at a depth easily reached by the roots of most cultivated plants they do not thrive, except where the water is constantly on the move, such as the bank of a river, brook or lake; there many plants will flourish. There are some wild plants that succeed in soil that has reached a water logged state, but generally such land is useless for gardening, farming or forestry purposes unless steps are taken to free it from superfluous moisture.

A few weeks ago, I went to the garden center to buy some pansies to put in decorative pots by my front porch. In my experience, pansies hold up even after the mums bite the dust, and they provide color just about as long as anyone has a right to expect color from a garden plant.

From the Latin salveo, meaning save or heal, used by Pliny with reference to the medicinal qualities of some species (Labiatae). A large genus of over 700 species of hardy, half-hardy and tender annual, biennial, perennial plants and shrubs, some with aromatic leaves, widely distributed in the temperate and warmer zones. It includes the common sage, S. officinalis, a valuable culinary plant, as well as many colourful summer and autumn flowering border plants.

Sooner or later, every gardener falls in love with a few select perennials. Perennials are flowering plants that live many years, but die back during their dormant season which is usually winter. When planted under the right conditions, perennials grow and prosper for years, often with little attention. Each perennial has a peak season of bloom, usually lasting from one to three months. After the blooms fade, the foliage remains so the plant can renew its energy stores for repeating the show again next year. The tops of most perennials are killed back by frost, but they do return in the spring.

Every gardener is familiar with the extraordinary effectiveness of vines in a proper setting, but most of us become discouraged after bad luck. The daintier vines have a habit of developing some unknown illness and dying back unexpectedly, while those which thrive usually do too good a job of it. Many a porch has collapsed under the weight of a husky vine, and many a fence has eventually been relinquished to the stranglehold of some plant which was merely intended to decorate and drape it . . . not to take possession. The lusty vines, which are coarse in growth and bloom, may have a definite place in our gardens, but they are just about as subtle as Niagara Falls.

Named for Karl August von Bergen, 1704-60, German botanist (Saxifragaceae). These hardy perennial herbaceous plants with large evergreen leaves were at one time called megasea, and were at another time included with the saxifrages. The flowers which come in early spring are showy in white, pink or red-purple, borne in large heads on long stems. The large leathery, glossy leaves are also decorative, especially as in some kinds the foliage is suffused with reddish color in winter.

We plant trees for their beauty of leaf, whether green in Summer or red in the Autumn; for their bark which becomes particularly fascinating. We plant trees because we love them. Some trees linger in our memories as old friends, from whose branches we have swung and “skinned-the-cat”; under whose cool shade we have rested from play or work. Some trees seem to have moods, changing from day to day, season to season, and from youth to old age.

Planting a tree takes a lot of thought. We may have to consider if we want a tree that is:

Commemorating M. Gaillard de Marentonneau, a French patron of botany (Compositae). Blanket flower. A small genus of annuals and perennials, natives of America, with a long flowering period, useful for cut flowers. Somewhat untidy in habit, the long stalks fall about in wind and rain. Gaillardias need some twiggy stakes to help to keep the flowers clean and in full view.

From the Greek echinos, a hedgehog, opsis, like, referring to the spiky appearance of the flower heads which resemble a rolled-up hedgehog (Compositae).

From the Greek erodios, a heron; the style and ovaries resemble the head and beak of a heron (Geraniaceae). Heron’s bill. Hardy perennials, closely related to the hardy geraniums, or crane’s bills. There are dwarf species suitable for the rock garden and taller border plants.