WFIU

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.

When Christian IV of Denmark visited his brother-in-law James Stuart in England, they threw some raucous, wild parties . . . so, it’s no surprise that King Christian’s fondness for the British Isles informed his musical patronage. This week on Harmonia: renaissance music from the court at Copenhagen.

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.

This week on Harmonia: music associated with coffee and coffeehouses. Grab a cup of your favorite brew as we travel from Constantinople to Leipzig, London, Paris, and back again, hearing sounds of different coffeehouses from the 16th to the 18th centuries.

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.

All types of marigolds last well as cut flowers, and they are excellent plants for children to grow when they begin gardening.

Now is the month of Maying, and English madrigalists weren’t the only ones singing about it! This week on Harmonia, we’ve got music for that marvelous time when winter is long gone but the hottest days have yet to chase us back indoors. Join us for a wide range of May songs, tunes on spring flowers and gentle breezes, and a seasonal feature from Fretwork and The Sixteen.

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!