Daisy Stuff

Attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. Certain plants are highly attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds due to their nectar. Hummingbirds tend to favor any flower that is shaped like a trumpet, especially if it is pink, red or purple. Examples of these are honeysuckle, fuchsia and monarda. Butterflies like flat, daisy-like flowers, such as chrysanthemums, asters and coneflowers. Choose a sunny position, as both butterflies and hummingbirds appreciate the warmth.

Divide large clumps of perennials. Some perennial plants lose vigor and flower less well if the clump becomes too large. Plants like Shasta daisies, bearded irises, phlox, chrysanthemum and coneflower benefit from being divided every three years. Without division they become congested, and the center of the clump will begin to die out. Simply dig the entire plant out, keeping the root ball intact, and divide it into pieces using a shovel. By doing this, you will have at least two or three new plants!

The daisy flower does not just bud, blossom, and die like most other flowers. Rather it performs a daily routine of “sleeping” at night by closing and “waking” in the morning by opening up again. Because of this unusual trait and the whorled appearance of the flower, the daisy was given the Old English name dægeseage, meaning literally “day’s eye.” The distinctive ray-like appearance of the daisy as it opens and closes with the sun reminds one of an eye that opens in the morning and closes at night.

History for daisy

The modern English word daisy descends from an Old English word dægesēage that means literally “day’s eye.” The yellow center of a daisy looks a bit like the sun, and the sun may be thought of as the bright eye of the day.
(From: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/daisy)

The daisy, one of the most beloved flowers among flower lovers, is the birth flower of April. Innocence and modesty are the virtues associated most with the daisy, largely because of its daintiness despite the boldness of its colors. In the language of flowers, daisies are given by a gentleman to a lady after spending a pleasant time with her.

Attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden. Certain plants are highly attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds due to their nectar. Hummingbirds tend to favor any flower that is shaped like a trumpet, especially if it is pink, red or purple. Examples of these are honeysuckle, fuchsia and monarda. Butterflies like flat, daisy-like flowers, such as chrysanthemums, asters and coneflowers. Choose a sunny position, as both butterflies and hummingbirds appreciate the warmth.

Daisies belong to the daisy family of Compositae, now known as Asteraceae in flowering plants. Daisies are native to north and central Europe. A Daisy flower is composed of white petals and a yellow center, although the flower can sometimes have a pink or rose color. Daisies can be grown very easily. Daisies are hard perennials. Daisy leaves are edible and can make a tasty addition to salads. They’re closely related to artichoke and are high in Vitamin C. Daisy flowers are believed to bring happiness, cheer and exuberance and are native to the northern and central parts of Europe.

Use plants and accents with the colors of white and cream in your garden. Using these colors in your garden creates a luminous effect, reflecting much more light than other colors. In many ways, a white garden is more lovely at night than it is in the day. Plants featuring this color are fairly easy to place around other plants, as they combine nicely with both warm and cool colors. Good choices are nicotiana, which has a heavenly fragrance, white clematis, variegated hosta, baby’s breath, shasta daisy, sweet alyssum and japanese anemone.

Use annuals and biennials to brighten your flower garden. These flowers grow quickly and can be planted at any time during the year. If you want to maintain a flower garden all year or you want to add new flowers to reflect the changing seasons, annuals and biennials are for you. Use them to fill gaps between shrubs and perennials in the sun. You should get varieties such as cosmos, petunia, rudbeckia, hollyhock, sunflowers or marigold.

Not only will creating your own garden save you money and give you healthier fruits and vegetables, but it will also help your state of mind as you work in your garden and grow your very own food. Use these tips to become your own farmer, and reap the benefits!