Growing of flowers



The name Agapanthus comes from the Greek agap, meaning love, and anthos, meaning flower, translating broadly as the flower of love.

Agapanthus is also commonly known as the Lily of the Nile, African Blue Lily, and African Lily. The genus, Agapanthus includes about 10 species. Agapanthus flowers bloom in large, round clusters or umbels of blue, white or violet-blue. The funnel shaped Agapanthus flowers grow at the end of a thick 2 to 4 foot tall stem. The Agapanthus clusters measure about 6 to 8 inches across.

Traits: Sun, Coastal, Rockery, Container

The 10 species in this southern African genus belong to the onion (Alliaceae) family but do not produce true bulbs, though their thickened fleshy roots perform much the same function. The plants in this genus are ideal for borders due to their narrow upright shape, and dwarf forms are superb in rockeries or containers. Although the various species seem quite distinct, some botanists now believe them to be just one very variable species. The genus name means flower of love, from the Greek agape, meaning love, and anthos, meaning flower, although the significance of the name is unclear. Agapanthus has been used medicinally for cardiac complaints.

Flowering Season: Summer



Coffea arabica is a species of Coffea originally indigenous to the mountains of Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula, hence its name, and also from the southwestern highlands of Ethiopia and southeastern Sudan. It is also known as the "coffee shrub of Arabia", "mountain coffee" or "arabica coffee". Coffea arabica is believed to be the first species of coffee to be cultivated, being grown in southwest Arabia for well over 1,000 years.

It is said to produce better coffee than the other major commercially grown coffee species, Coffea canephora (robusta), but tastes vary. C. arabica contains less caffeine than any other commercially cultivated species of coffee.

Wild plants grow to between 9 and 12 m tall, and have an open branching system; the leaves are opposite, simple elliptic-ovate to oblong, 6–12 cm long and 4–8 cm broad, glossy dark green. The flowers are white, 10–15 mm in diameter and grow in axillary clusters. The fruit is a drupe (though commonly called a "berry") 10–15 mm in diameter, maturing bright red to purple and typically contains two seeds (the coffee 'bean').

Characteristics
Fully grown, coffea arabica is between fourteen to fifteen feet tall and bushy (however, it should be noted that a properly pruned tree generally will not reach this height). It has dark-green, lance-shaped leaves, approximately three to six inches long. The underside of the leaves are substantially lighter than the top side.




Abutilon is a large genus of approximately 150 species of broadleaf evergreens in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus includes annuals, perennials, shrubs, and small trees from 1–10 m tall, and is found in the tropical and subtropical regions of all continents. The leaves are alternate, unlobed or palmately lobed with 3-7 lobes. The flowers are conspicuous, with five petals, mostly red, pink, orange, yellow or white.

Common names include Abutilon, Chinese Bell Flower, Chinese Lantern, Mallow, Indian Mallow, and Flowering Maple (for the maple-like leaves of some species, although the genus is not related to the true maples). The generic name is derived from the Arabic word Abu Tilon.

Abutilon species are used as food plants by the larvae of some lepidoptera species including Yellow-banded Skipper (which feeds exclusively on A. avicennae) and Chionodes mariona.