(Floralee Mother Fern, Mother Fern)

This bright green fern is identical to its parent species except that it’s more cold hardy, and may be grown at the low end of its zone rating. The parent is native to New Zealand and Australia and is called mother fern because young plantlets form along the fronds, detach over time (or early if disturbed), fall to the ground and root, eventually forming colonies. Plantlets are genetically identical to the mother plant. This is a symmetrical open center fern with long fronds that become weighted...

(Mother Fern)

Mother fern is an evergreen or semi-evergreen in its native Australia and New Zealand habitats. It has long, finely divided fronds slightly over an arm's length-long. Young plantlets form along its midrib that drop off and can be easily transplanted. It can form large colonies from these either in the ground, upon fallen logs, inbetween stones or on large tree roots.

Mother fern needs a moist and friable soil with organic matter. Bright indirect light and an acidic soil is ideal for this plant....

(Bird's Nest Fern)

This tender evergreen fern from the Old World tropics is a classic houseplant. In its native habitat it is usually epiphytic, growing in trees. In cultivation, however, it also takes well to containers or garden beds. The long linear simple leaves are glossy-green with dark midribs and pointed, often furled tips. The leaves form circular rosettes which accumulate organic debris in their hair-lined centers. The spores are borne in rib-like rows on the underside of the leaf. Numerous cultivars and...

(Ganges Primrose)

Successful in many warm soils, the spreading foliage of Ganges primrose is a lovely backdrop for the white or yellow blossoms that flush purple with maturity. An exact nativity is uncertain, but believed to hail from eastern Africa, and India eastward into Malaysia. This is a tender perennial or subshrub that sprawls out and is reminiscent of a large petunia plant. It is usually regarded as a pretty weed in the tropics (in lawns), often invasive along the beaches.

The medium green leaves are...

(Ganges Primrose, Variegated Primrose)

Successful in many warm soils, the spreading green and yellow foliage of variegated Ganges primrose is a lovely backdrop for the white or yellow blossoms that flush purple with maturity. An exact nativity is uncertain, but believed to hail from eastern Africa, and India eastward into Malaysia. This is a tender perennial or subshrub that sprawls out and is reminiscent of a large petunia plant. It is usually regarded as a pretty weed in the tropics (in lawns), often invasive along the beaches.

The...

(Carambola, Starfruit)

Carambola, also known as starfruit, is a tropical semi-evergreen tree native to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and southeastern Asia. It is a medium sized, slow growing, ackwardly-branching tree that puts forth leaf stalks with alternating green, finely haired leaves. Its fragrant pink-violet flowers are borne in small clusters on reddish stalks in spring and summer. Orange-yellow oblong, star-shaped fruits with waxy skin develop throughout the warm months and may continue into winter. Trees typically need...

(Carolina Mosquito Fern)

Native to much of the eastern half of North America, Carolina mosquito fern is a tiny, feather aquatic fern that floats on the surface of still ponds and lake edges. Populations also extend down into Mexico and Central America. Its tiny fronds are bright green, often with a reddish or purplish-red hue. It's hard to believe this aquatic, floating plant is in fact a miniscule fern. It is free-floating and may be adapted to fresh or brackish water.

Carolina mosquito fern thrives in pools with full...

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana ambigua is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of fragrant blue flowers. It is native to sandy habitats in the South and West Cape regions of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of slender, lance-shaped leaves that are hairy and weakly pleated. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The violet-scented, 2-inch-wide,...

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana fragrans is grown for its mid- to late-winter display of sweet-scented blooms. It is native to sandstone slopes and ledges in the West Cape region of South Africa. This species was formerly known as Babiana disticha and Babiana plicata.

This member of the iris family produces low, sparse clumps of hairy, pleated, dagger-shaped leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply...

A charming little "bulb" for Mediterranean- and desert-climate gardens, Babiana tubulosa is grown for its late-winter and early-spring display of starry, long-tubed white flowers. It is native to sandy habitats in the South and West Cape regions of South Africa.

This member of the iris family produces low fans of narrow, hairy, pleated leaves. They arise in late fall or winter from rounded, deeply buried corms with fibrous "tunics." The 2-inch-wide (5-cm), unscented, snow-white to creamy-white...