Sorry, no picture. I would describe it as being tall on several almost bare stems with very large leaves. It is purple, with "feathery" petals that reach upwards. The center reminds me of a cone flower's, but it is thinner and taller. Please give me some ideas so I can look them up! The flower is the most unique thing I have ever seen.
No, sorry. I know what a thistle looks like. This is about 2 ft tall and was planted in one of the show garden's in a city park.
Thank you Angel! I found it! It's a Blue Sea Holly. Here's the link to the picture! Yay!
Christmas flowers are meant to represent happiness and joy, as well as bring about the spirit of giving and sharing, just like the Christmas holiday does. They also symbolize hope in the people who receive them and even the ones that give them. Christmas flowers can easily brighten up any home and shower it with the perfect look to start up the festivities by adding multiple dimensions to every holiday activity.
A Christmas flower arrangement can also add extra touches of beauty to any festive decorations, while being both long-lasting and economical. They also happen to be simple to do and you can get them done for any party you plan on having for the holidays. However, because of this, you need to learn how to best utilize them for the holidays.
Winter flowers can be put to use in various ways. They are one-of-a-kind and very special gifts, which you can give to party hosts that invite you over and which you can also send to friends or family members who cannot be near you for the holidays. They can also be used in wreaths and flower baskets or as centerpieces, candle rings, bouquets and main house plants. No matter how you choose to use them, winter flowers can easily be found at local florists and online florists.
The primary color themes of winter flowers would be green, red and white. Within the past few years, purple seems to have made its way into becoming a popular color for Christmas, as well. These colors can either be used on their own or in pretty floral combinations. Traditional Christmas flower arrangements include bright combinations of white and red flowers with some bits of greenery added on to them.
There are a lot of winter flower ideas that you can choose from due to the wide variety of flowers available. Practically any flower can be put to use as a winter flower; however, particular flowers do lend themselves to the Christmas color themes more. The most common ones would be carnations, roses, poinsettias, gerberas, lilies, tulips, orchids, iris and chrysanthemums, all of which can be cut up into a bouquet and wrapped in cellophane.
To make these flowers even more interesting, look for various kinds of greens. You can make use of boxwood, pine, holly, noble fir, rough juniper, cedar or fern leaves to adorn them or even add some sparkling thistle, silver twigs and ilex berries, if you’d like. Reindeer, snowmen, pine cones, colored ribbons and Christmas tree balls can also give your flowers a unique touch.
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Your vase’s size should depend on the overall shape and size of your entire flower arrangement. Christmas mugs can be put to use for Christmas flowers, though you can also opt to use baskets and ceramic pots. Be creative and search your home for interesting items that you could place your flowers into whenever you have ideas for the holidays. Keep in mind that you have the power to dress your very own home this holiday season with spectacular winter flowers arrangement that will make your friends and family members wonder how you did it. Enjoy!
Purple Coneflower Many plant/flower questions! please help!?
how long after planting morning glory seeds will it take for it to bloom?
do nasturtiums grow like morning glory's?
how long after planting giant imperials will it take to bloom?
will my lupines and foxgloxes bloom this summer if i just planted them a week ago?
how long until coleus bloom after planting seeds?
how long until purple coneflower blooms after planting seeds?
how long until zinnia's bloom after planting seeds?
i live in north carolina - coast -and have no idea what zone i'm in.
i'm new to planting.
just started planting all of these seeds last week.
any info regarding my questions is greatly appreciated.
thanks.
morning glories will take a little over a month to bloom. start now so in early july they will be anice size for outside. also you may want to consider a moon vine which is a reletive to morning glories only very fragrant and will come back up in southern noth carolina. the pink moon vine is also a cold hardy relatinve of morning glories.
here is a photo of nasturtiums
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/25785/
it doesnt gorw like a mornig glory because it is not a vine, but a ground cover. this is an annual in yor state.
yes your foxgloves will flower in time for summer. in colder climates they dont come up till june and flower by july so yours may be in flower by late may.
purple coneflowers as well as zinnias take about a month or so to bloom so it may not be until early or mid june before they are mature enough to go outside
your zone is a zone 8a if in southern north carolina and a zone 7b in northern or mid north carolina.
zone 8a has many plants such as medditeranean fan palms, cannas, moon vines, pink moon vines, pindo palms, clematis, hydraneas, dusty millers and lots lots more.
zone 7b is also a good planting zone. you can grow cannas, pink moon vines, hydraneas, windmill palms, mazari palms, needle palms, vincas, clematis, roses, cherrys and also lots more.
OEC Tallgrass Prairie Tour - July 19 - purple coneflower
The Many Varieties of The Herb Echinacea Or The Coneflower
The coneflower or the Herb Echinacea has caused a great splash with gardeners and herbalists in the past couple of years. There have been many studies done in Germany which seems to support the ideas that the coneflower does indeed boost the immune system. Gardeners love the Herb Echinacea because of it hardiness and long blooming season July through fall. Herbalists love it for its medicinal qualities. The plant was named from the Greek "echinos" meaning Hedgehog. It is believed that they named it that for its sharp and pointy flower bracts. The conical center is why it is called Coneflower. In addition, gardeners love the fact that the Herb Echinacea attracts birds and butterflies.
There are nine species of the coneflower. All of them are native to North America. We will be examining four of the species that are widely available. You can choose one coneflower or mix it up with two or three to make it more interesting.
For a smaller coneflower (10 to 24 inches) choose the Black Sampson variety. The plant grows from the Canadian border south, all the way to Texas. The stems of this plant are hairy, with narrow leaves and rose pink flowers. This is the smallest of the Echinacea species. The flowers are 2 ½ to 3 inches in diameter when in full bloom.
The research on the Herb Echinacea suggests that the medicinal qualities of the Echinacea are in the roots. Unfortunately, mass collection of the Black Sampson has endangered it.
Tennessee Coneflower is also on the endangered list. This coneflower only grows in central Tennessee and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife agency licenses the nurseries planning on selling this species. This Herb Echinacea will grow two or 3 feet.. The leaves are a darkish green with flowers that are a deep pink with green centers and upturned petals.
As noted above, the nurseries must be licensed, so look to the internet for sources.
There are two kinds of purple coneflowers, the Pale Purple coneflower and the Purple coneflower. The pale purple coneflower is 3-6 inches in diameter. It is best situated in sunny sites with good drainage. It is found in the Midwest and south to Louisiana. These three feet tall plants start their blooming in July and will last until the frost months.
The Purple Coneflower, known for its medicinal qualities is the most widely used of the species. Most gardeners make use of this Echinacea herb. This is a big plant, three to four feet tall with large flowers about four to six inches in diameter. The flowers are quite lovely with reddish purple petals tipped in green. The centers are orange and there petals will droop. They are so droopy that in the Ozarks their name is droopy. There leaves can be jagged or smooth and are a medium green color. Many florists use these in their arrangements because of their durable stalks.
The Herb Echinacea was revered by the Native Americans and in Montana they are alarmed that it is being over harvested. They used the coneflower to treat health problems like respiratory infections and snakebites. In the 19th century Echinacea was use to purify blood. It was also used to treat dizziness. In the next century, before the use of antibiotics, it was used to treat colds and flu. Now it is popular in treating upper respiratory illness. It is becoming increasing popular in reducing itch and to soothe the skin.
If using the Herb Echinacea for medicinal purposes it is best used in its fresh state. The plant must grow for three years before the roots become beneficial. If you are buying the Herb Echinacea from a health food store, chew a small piece first. If it does not numb your tongue and you don't produce more saliva, the roots are either too old or improperly dried. It is not healthy to ingest Echinacea over a long period of time. Give your immune system a break so you do not build up a tolerance for Echinacea.
The Herb Echinacea is now the third most popular herb sold in the United States.
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About the Author
About the Author
Mary Hanna is an aspiring herbalist who lives in Central Florida. This allows her to grow gardens inside and outside year round. She has published other articles on Cruising, Gardening and Cooking. Visit her websites at http://www.CruiseTravelDirectory.com, http://www.ContainerGardeningSecrets.com, and http://www.GardeningHerb.com or contact her at mary@webmarketingreviews.com
a. produces pollen grains
b. flower structure containing one or more ovules
c. male cone that produces male gametophytes
d. brightly colored part of a flower that attracts insects
e. innermost floral part that produces the female gametophytes
f. male gametophyte stage of a gymnosperm
g. cone in which gymnosperms produce female gametophytes
h. structure found in pairs near the base of each scale on a seed cone
i. enclose the bud before it opens and protects the developing flower
j. contains two haploid sperm cells
Wreaths, those attractive and fragrant decorations, can be displayed on our front doors at Christmas or indoors any time of year. You can easily make your own unique and lovely wreath to show off your home grown herbs and flowers, or to display the pods, cones and seed heads you can find in the woods or roadsides in fall.
The first part is fun - collecting the materials. Start in your own back yard, and look for interesting flower heads that may have dried, seed heads with unique shapes such as poppies, tulips, columbine or iris, or feathery heads of grasses. Silver dollar heads and Japanese lanterns will have dried, and are ready to pick. Clusters of cones can be found on and under evergreen trees, and nut trees will have shed the seed husks from filberts, oak or chestnuts, or maples their winged maple seeds, just waiting to be collected.
Your wreath will be more interesting if you plan for some contrasts in texture and color - shiny chestnuts next to a fringed hemlock cone cluster, or a deep brown walnut shell next to silvery feathers of ornamental grasses. Place the same item in different positions - a cone can sit on its base, lie on its side, or even be placed stem up. Just make sure your pods, cones, acorns, seed heads and foliage are ripe and dry. Green material can get moldy and destroy all your hard work.
Cut a sturdy corrugated cardboard into a doughnut for the base. Use white glue or a glue gun to attach the materials to each other and to the base. Strip a large pine cone, and glue the pieces shaped like petals around the edges of the wreath to form a border. Once it has dried, start building up the wreath with the largest pieces you have collected - the largest cones, teasel heads, large pods, and so on. Glue them in place around the wreath.
Next, add the medium sized pieces - acorns, thistle heads, small cones, seed husks or dried flower heads. Make sure you keep a variety in your arrangement, and again, think of contrasting color and texture as you glue the pieces in place. Finally, add your smallest pieces to fill in any spots where the cardboard still shows. If you have some feathery grass heads or dried flower heads, these can even be broken apart and used to fill in small spaces, adding even more texture, color and depth.
Once the glue has dried, take your wreath outside and spray it with clear varnish. If you'd like, you can add some ribbon, beads or berries to make a Christmas themed wreath. Glue a hanger to the back, and you're all finished.The mellow natural tones make this an appropriate decoration for fall and winter, and even year round.
About the Author
Gardening expert Nicki Goff offers a free e-mail starter course all about her main passion... herb gardening. For access, visit her website, www.HomeHerbGardener.
Find more great tips, and her new comprehensive e-book on creating, maintaining and enjoying your own home herb garden right here.
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