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Focus on Flowers

Focus on Flowers is a weekly podcast and public radio program about flower gardening gardening created and hosted by master gardener Moya Andrews between 2004-2025.

  • Some types of birds prefer ground level water sources also, so even a plant pot saucer can serve during hot days. You don't need feeders during the summer, but water is crucial in times of drought.
  • The name canna comes from the Greek word spelled "kanna," which means reed, though the canna plant does not have narrow reed-like leaves.
  • Oenothera fruticosa's common name is sundrops, and its nectar attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
  • Ageratum pairs well with plants of any color.
  • Blue false indigo's flowering period is short, but the foliage always looks cool even on the hottest day of summer.
  • Native to Mexico, dahlias probably grew in Aztec gardens as they were already in cultivation when the Spaniards arrived.
  • Red Hot Pokers belong to the genus Kniphofia (Kniphofia uvaria) and are also known as tritoma or torch lilies.
  • The common name "pinks” does not refer to the color but to the fringed edging of the petals that makes them look as if they had been cut with pinking shears.
  • In the lower Midwest, May is the month when we see lots of white flowers.
  • All types of marigolds last well as cut flowers, and they are excellent plants for children to grow when they begin gardening.
  • I would not be without my annual larkspur, which I have enjoyed year after year and some often self-seed and return, but in order to be sure, I always buy some seeds. I don't want to risk a year without it!