(Pineapple)

Who doesn’t love sweet, juicy pineapple? This popular fruit has been long cultivated in hot spots like Southeast Asia, Costa Rica and Hawaii. Believed to have originated from Brazil, pineapple had already been grown and selected by indigenous Americans before Europeans arrived in the 15th Century. Today no wild form is known, but many variable selections exist that differ in flavor quality, vigor and fruit size. Some have even been developed for their ornamental appeal.

Ananas comosus...

(Ivory Coast Pineapple, Variegated Pineapple)

A cultivar of pineapple grown for its colorful foliage rather than its edible fruit, 'Ivory Coast' is an evergreen, terrestrial, rosette-forming perennial whose erect, sword-shaped, olive-green leaves have creamy white, spineless edges. Mature specimens produce pyramidal clusters of small lavender flowers with showy pink bracts. These are borne atop a stout central stem in summer. The flowers give rise to fleshy amber or golden brown fruitlets that fuse into a large, cone-shaped pineapple. The fruit...

(Variegated Pineapple)

Variegated pineapple is a terrestrial bromeliad with a rosette of narrow evergreen leaves colored green, creamy yellow and a little pink. Nasty spines line the leaves, and protect the fleshy amber to golden brown fruit that rises on a central stalk. It is believed to be native to Brazil.

Variegated pineapple needs sunlight and a moist, well drained soil. Full sun promotes the light pink blushing on the leaves, although it is faint or simply not present. It loves humidity and moisture, but soggy...

(Curagua, Pineapple)

A close relative of the commercial pineapple, curagua is distinguished by its rosette of stiff, smooth, slender red-bronze leaves and its pretty inedible fruit. This evergreen terrestrial bromeliad is from northern South America. Throughout the growing season it bears purple-white flowers and small, red, pineapple-like fruits on a stalk that arises from the center of the leaf rosette.

Curagua needs well-drained soil and full to partial sun. Insufficient sunlight will result in dull green rather...

(Dwarf Pineapple, Piñita, Pink Pineapple)

Curious as a tropical plant, the miniature pineapple's small fruit is edible, but usually no larger than that of a chicken egg. Native to northern Brazil to Suriname, this is a tender perennial bromeliad that grows as a spider-like rosette.

Long, stiff grayish green leaves lined in sharp spines, looking and piercing skin like curving swords. Healthy two-year old plants send up a tall, slender flower stalk from the center of the leaf rosette in spring's warmth. Atop this stalk is a rounded mass...

(Anemone, Harmony Blue Anemone)

This Poppy anemone, ‘Harmony Blue,’ is a tender perennial with ferny leaves and poppy-like flowers. It grows in a spreading clump that sends up a little forest of slender stalks in spring topped by open, multi-petalled blue flowers with a large, dark central disc. It is one cultivar among several in the Harmony Series, all alike except for flower colors which range from white through pink, orange and red to blue. The parent species is native to the Mediterranean region, a clue to its limited hardiness....

(Anemone, Harmony Orchid Anemone)

This Poppy anemone, ‘Harmony Orchid,’ is a tender perennial with ferny leaves and poppy-like flowers. It grows in a spreading clump that sends up a little forest of slender stalks in spring topped by open, multi-petalled light-purple flowers with a large, dark central disc. It is one cultivar among several in the Harmony Series, all alike except for flower colors, which range from white through pink, orange and red to blue. The parent species is native to the Mediterranean region, a clue to its limited...

(Crown Windflower, Lilies-of-the-Field, Poppy-flowered Anemone)

Native to the Mediterranean, this tender, often short-lived perennial bears showy, poppy-like flowers in late winter, early spring, or a few months after its bumpy tubers are planted. Poised on slender stalks above clumps of divided, ferny leaves, the solitary flowers have five to eight scarlet, blue, pink, white, or multicolored segments with a large, usually dark central disc. Often planted at intervals to provide continual year-round bloom in greenhouses or mild climates, poppy-flowered anemone...

(Crown Windflower, The Admiral Crown Windflower)

Native to the Mediterranean, poppy-flowered anemone is a tender, often short-lived perennial with showy flowers in late winter, early spring, or a few months after its bumpy tubers are planted. Introduced before 1927, the cultivar 'Admiral' has deep violet, semi-double flowers with three rows of "petals." Borne on calf-high stems above clumps of divided, ferny leaves, the solitary, poppy-like blooms have a large, dark central disk. Often planted at intervals to provide continual year-round bloom...

(Crown Windflower)

Native to the Mediterranean, poppy-flowered anemone is a tender, often short-lived perennial with showy flowers in late winter, early spring, or a few months after its bumpy tubers are planted. Introduced about 1870, the cultivar 'Bride' has large, single white flowers with 5 to 8 segments. Borne on calf-high stems above clumps of divided, ferny leaves, the solitary, poppy-like blooms have a large green central disk. Often planted at intervals to provide continual year-round bloom in greenhouses...