Torch ginger (Etlingera elatior) is a tropical plant known for vibrant, torch-like blooms and edible flowers with a sour-sweet taste. The perennial grows tall with leathery leaves that stretch about three feet long, and its seasonal flowers open on upright stalks surrounded by large, petal-like bracts. Those eye-catching blooms are used in floral arrangements and […]
Society garlic (Tulbaghia violacea) is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial from the Amaryllis family that works as an edible groundcover. It carries delicate, tubular, star-shaped flowers above grassy foliage and reaches about two feet tall when in bloom. The plant comes from the rocky grasslands of eastern South Africa, and despite its garlic-like scent it is
Gold Mound spirea is a deciduous shrub grown for one feature above all others: its golden leaves. New growth emerges bright gold in spring, holds a soft yellow-green through summer, and shifts to warm yellow in autumn, so the plant reads as a patch of sunlight for months at a time. In late spring to
Castor bean plants (Ricinus communis) go from seed to 6–10 feet in a single summer, making them one of the fastest ways to add tropical scale to a garden. Their huge, star-shaped leaves and clusters of spiny seed capsules draw attention from across the yard, and grown in a row they form a quick living
Miscanthus, commonly called silvergrass, is a warm-season ornamental grass that returns every year and forms fountain-shaped clumps topped with feathery plumes. Gardeners value it for its low-maintenance habit, drought resistance, and the silvery sheen that runs through the foliage and flower heads alike. That metallic tone is the same finish that anchors glam Hollywood-style bathroom
Rambutan is a tropical broadleaf evergreen grown for its distinctive fruit: a hairy red shell that peels away to reveal sweet, floral flesh around a single inedible seed. The trees belong to the soapberry family, along with lychee and longan, and they reward patient gardeners with crops for decades once established. In Southeast Asia the
The luna moth is one of the largest and most striking insects in North America, a pale green presence with sweeping tails that most people only see by accident. Adults fly at night, live about a week, and never eat. They do not damage gardens, bite people, or invade homes, which makes them a favorite
Micro clover is a dwarf variety of white clover bred to stay short, flower less, and blend into a lawn instead of fighting it. Mixed at 2 to 5 percent of a seed blend, it keeps turf green between feedings, pulls nitrogen out of the air, and covers bare soil so weeds cannot get a
The hummingbird bush, also known as flame acanthus, is a Texas native shrub that puts out orange or red tubular flowers from spring to fall. It is drought-tolerant, sun-loving, and forgiving of poor soil, which makes it a dependable anchor for xeriscape beds and a reliable stop for feeding hummingbirds. Once the flowers draw birds
Chicken manure, often called black gold, is one of the most nutrient-dense amendments you can add to garden soil. Its nitrogen and phosphorus content runs at least twice as high as cow manure, so a modest pile goes a long way. The birds produce it daily, which means the housing around them decides how clean
