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A blue butterfly plant is true blue

A blue butterfly plant is true blue

By Gary R. Bachman

MSU Horticulturist
Coastal Research & Extension Center

If you’re like me and constantly looking for true blue flowers, you will want to be sure to make a place in your garden for the blue butterfly plant.

I enjoy spring, when greenhouses and garden centers start offering all sorts of new and exciting plants for our Mississippi landscapes and gardens. I’m always on the lookout for blue flowers to include in the landscape.

True blue flowers can be hard to find.

Purple coneflowers are an easy garden choice

Purple coneflowers are an easy garden choice

By Gary R. Bachman

MSU Horticulturist
Coastal Research & Extension Center

Purple coneflowers are a flowering Mississippi native perennial that can really make a statement in your home garden and landscape.

The plant’s name comes from the beautiful purple flowers that seem to attract an endless number of butterflies and bees, especially all sorts of bumblebees.

Valentine’s gifts should come from the heart

Valentine’s gifts should come from the heart

By Susan Collins-Smith
MSU Ag Communications

MISSISSIPPI STATE – Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about love and romance, but gift exchanges can leave some sweethearts feeling anxious instead.

Susan Cosgrove, area family resource management agent in Newton County with Mississippi State University Extension Service, said homemade gifts are an inexpensive option and can be even more meaningful than store-bought ones.

“Make a custom calendar or quilt using family photos,” she said.

Tasty Swiss chard brightens winter garden

Tasty Swiss chard brightens winter garden

By Gary R. Bachman

MSU Horticulturist
Coastal Research & Extension Center

Gardeners seeking color for the winter landscape should look beyond traditional pansies and violas and embrace the wide range of ornamental vegetables that can be grown in Mississippi. I’ve written about the colorful varieties of ornamental kale and cabbage, but a plant that doesn’t get much press is Swiss chard.

Cyclamen offer great winter flower choices

Cyclamen offer great winter flower choices

By Gary R. Bachman

MSU Horticulturist
Coastal Research & Extension Center

If you’re still looking for a fantastic indoor plant for the winter season, try cyclamen. It has a long blooming period and produces loads of colorful flowers to enjoy on dreary days.

Flowers can be found in a variety of shades of red, pink and white, but I think some of the most attractive are the soft pastels of pink and lavender.

The nodding flowers have swept-back petals that are held on straight stems above the foliage.

Indoor microgrardens can stop winter blues

Indoor microgrardens can stop winter blues

By Gary R. Bachman

MSU Horticulturist
Coastal Research & Extension Center

Winter can be hard on avid gardeners because cold temperatures prohibit many gardening activities. They may become bored, restless and perhaps even show irritation at the slightest annoyance.

These are classic symptoms of gardening cabin fever. For the active gardener, it only gets worse when all those catalogs start arriving.

A simple cure is to bring the garden indoors until spring arrives.

Wedding flowers are beautiful, symbolic

Wedding flowers are beautiful, symbolic

By Gary R. Bachman

MSU Horticulturist
Coastal Research & Extension Center

Of all of our activities, wedding ceremonies may be the most symbolic. Symbolism is found in everything from the rings, representing the couple’s commitment of everlasting love, to who sits on which side of the church. Even the flowers used in ceremonies can be symbolic.

When choosing wedding flowers, the most important consideration may be the colors of the bride’s and bridesmaids’ dresses, but you should also consider the symbolic meaning of the flower.