(Tropical Day-Blooming Waterlily)

The tropical day blooming waterlily 'Tina' has vibrant rose-pink flowers with a purple-white base. Bred by noted waterlily breeder Van Ness, it was first introduced in 1974. The bright blooms shine above brownish green pads pads that float on the water. They are supported by flexible stems that arise from rhizomes that anchor the plant in the mucky soil below. This is a viviparous waterlily that produces vegetative plantlets that can be removed from the parent plant and replanted as a new plant....

(Tropical Night-blooming Waterlily, Trudy Slocum Waterlily)

The night-blooming tropical waterlily, ‘Trudy Slocum’ is free-flowering and pungently scented. Its clear white semi-double flowers surround lots of yellow pollen-carrying anthers. The blooms are held above the water’s surface, open around sunset and close at noon the following day. The large round leaves are green with brown-green undersides and float on the surface of the water. (New leaves have occasional purple blotches.) They are supported by flexible brown stems that rise from rhizomes growing...

(Hardy Waterlily, Virgin Waterlily)

The hardy waterlily ‘Virginalis’ is a very free-flowering cultivar with cup-shaped white flowers held above the water surface. Its petals are lovely white surrounding a center of yellow stamens. The flowers are lightly fragrant in only the newest blossoms. This 1910 hybrid has round, green floating leaves that emerge purpled or bronzed. They are supported by flexible green or light brown stems that arise from a thick rhizome growing hortizontally in mucky soil below.

Waterlilies require full...

(African Blue Basil, Hybrid Basil)

Big, beautiful ‘African Blue’ basil is a hybrid of Ocimum basilicum 'Dark Opal,' a purple-leafed sweet basil and Ocimum kilimandscharicum, camphor basil. It is grown as much for its lovely leaves as it is for cooking. The large leaves are purple when they first emerge and mature to dark, shiny green with purple veins and undersides. The fragrance and flavor is spicy with hints of camphor. The upright, bushy plants are large and ideal for sunny garden spots.

In summer basil produces...

(Basil)

For many, this is the perfect culinary herb with a thousand and one flavorful uses. Sweet basil is a bushy annual, or short-lived evergreen perennial, that originates from Eurasia and Africa. It has been broadly cultivated for centuries and boasts a wide array of cultivars of varying sizes, colors, textures and tastes. Anyone who has compared the sweet, aromatic flavor of large-leaved Italian basil to the sharp flavor of purple-leaved basil can tell you they are profoundly different. Some basil cultivars...

(Basil)

A dense, mounding, small-leaved plant that does indeed resemble a dwarf boxwood, this basil has both ornamental and culinary value. It is one of hundreds of selections of Ocimum basilicum, an annual or short-lived perennial from tropical Asia that has long been cultivated for its aromatic, flavorful leaves.

Boxwood basil bears dense masses of tiny, green, opposite leaves on low, rounded plants. The sweetly spicy leaves taste great in salads, pesto or pasta sauce, and the plants are perfect...

(Basil, Cinnamon Basil)

Cinnamon basil is a spicy cultivar of sweet basil. It has purple stems, pink to lavender flowers and a compact habit. The spicy, cinnamon-like scent and flavor of the leaves comes from the same aromatic compound that gives the bark of the cinnamon tree its delicious bouquet. This garden selection was probably made from plants in Mexico and is popular for use in hot drinks or to give an exotic flavor to pasta sauces.

As summer warms up, cinnamon basil produces spikes of flowers. After blooming,...

(Basil, Curlyleaf Basil, Savoyleaf Basil)

This pungent but sweet basil has the added value of crisp, savoyed leaves that offer real visual appeal. It has a tidy, bushy habit and lots of bright green, large, curly or ruffled leaves. This pretty garden selection is favored for salads and cooked dishes. Some claim its flavor is not mellow enough for pesto, but flavor can vary depending on soil and growing conditions, so taste your own before reaching this conclusion.

For many, basil is the perfect culinary herb. It is a bushy annual, or...

(Basil)

For many, basil is the perfect culinary herb. It is a bushy annual, or short-lived perennial, that originates from Africa and Asia. As summer warms up, it produces spikes of two-lipped, white flowers. After flowering, plants put fewer resources towards foliage production and more towards flowers and seeds. This results in smaller, stronger, more acrid tasting leaves. So, it is best to pick off buds as they appear to keep plants from blooming.

Satisfyingly easy to grow, basil requires full sun...

(Basil, Italian Largeleaf Basil)

This large, lettuce-leaf basil is one of the best Italian cultivars for salads and pesto. It has extra big, bright green, richly flavored leaves. The plants are slow to bolt, which means they flower later and spend more time producing lots of leaves for eating. This vigorous selection has an upright, bushy habit and excels in the garden with minimal care.

For many, basil is the perfect culinary herb. It is a bushy annual, or short-lived perennial, that originates from Africa and Asia. As summer...