The management and staff of Richard Lyons’ Nursery always make a sincere effort to urge customers to use both scientific and common names of plants. But considering how hard it is to say Holmskioldia sanguinea, we’ll forgive you if you favor the common names, Mandarin Hat Plant (the name preferred in southern Florida), Chinese Hat…
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Firespike can really fool you. You might think that a plant native to Central America would perform poorly in cold weather, but this species is capable of doing quite well along a huge swath of the U.S. running almost uninterrupted from southern South Carolina to southern Washington. And it’s beautiful to boot! This evergreen shrub, known botanically as Odontonema…
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In 1898, the United States became embroiled in the Spanish-American War. President William McKinley, eager to assess the relative strengths of the Spanish forces and Cuban insurgents, wanted to send a message to General Calixto Garcia, who was somewhere in the mountains of eastern Cuba. Col. Arthur Wagner, head of the Bureau of Military Intelligence,…
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Plant lovers appreciate the vast array of fragrances encountered in tropical and subtropical species. One of the best of them introduced to our region is the Sweet Almond, Aloysia virgata. Its strong fragrance is optimally enjoyed at a distance from the plant, where breezes easily carry it. Native to fairly dry subtropical areas of Argentina, Sweet Almond can be grown in the ground all…
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Brunfelsia grandiflora is a member of the Solanaceae Family, which its most recognizable member is the Tomato Plant. Its common name, Yesterday-Today-and-Tomorrow, is aptly named, as its flowers start out purple, fading to pale lavender, and then to white over a 3-4 day period. When the shrub is in full bloom in late October –…
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