Balloon
FlowerPlatycodon grandiflora
Zone: 3 - 9
| The Balloon Flower gets it's name from the round shape of it's flower before it opens up, which looks like a balloon! They are round until the flower gets ready to open, then it has 2 inch blooms that opens to 5 points. It is a Perennial, and likes Sun with a little shade from hot Summer afternoons. It has bright Blue flowers and blooms in late Spring or Summer. The Balloon Flower can grow up to 2 feet tall. Some other types have pink or white flowers. It looks good in borders and rock gardens. |
Grape HyacinthMuscari
Zone: 3 - 8
| Grape Hyacinth is a Bulb, which is a kind of flower that contains everything it needs in it to grow except water! This bulb is good to use for the Spring. You can plant the bulbs 1 inch apart, then watch as the many leaves come up straight and curve over. They usually start coming up in late January or early February. You'll see a stem with a blue flower that looks alot like grapes, only upside down! The bulbs look good in flowerpots, flower beds and below other plants that are taller. They grow about 6-12 inches tall and like to be planted where they get lots of sun, or a little shade. They are usually blue and there are some that are white. They multiply every year, and look really good with daffodils. Just make sure you water every week if it stops raining during the fall and winter months. |
Lambs EarStachys bizantina
Zones: 4 to 9
 |
This type of Lambs Ear is
called Silver Carpet because of it's silvery color. It's a
Perennial which means it doesn't have to be planted every year,
but keeps growing. The leaves are woolly, downy and soft. Other
kinds have gray leaves. Some Lambs Ear have pink or purple
flowers that grow up on spikes above the leaves (but Silver
Carpet doesn't grow any flowers). They usually flower in late
Spring or early Summer. They like sun or some shade, and grow
thick and wide (like a carpet). If you feel their leaves, you
will see why they are called Lambs Ear! They are actually an
herb. They can grow up to 1 foot tall and 1-2 feet wide. Lambs
Ear is used in borders and as a ground cover, usually below a
taller plant. |
SunflowerHelianthus annuus
All Zones
| The Sunflower is an Annual,
which means it has to be planted every year. It is easy to grow.
Birds like the seeds, the same sunflower seeds we like to eat!
The giant Sunflower can grow up to 10-feet tall or more, with 8-
to 14-inch wide flowers! There are smaller versions too. The
Sunflower likes warm weather and sun. It blooms in the Summer,
and starts to grow in 10-14 days from seed. Some Sunflowers are
yellow and some are red. You have to be sure to wait until after
all the frost in Spring is gone before you plant them. You can
measure how tall they grow by standing next to them. |
Kid Art by Katie
