Q. Can you give me information on the following wildflowers: lupine, annual baby's breath, cornflower, cosmos, Virginia stock, catchfly, mountain garland and Shirley poppy.--M.B., Irvine, CA
A. Each of the plants listed will thrive in full sunshine, in average soil. The plants will need regular watering during the earliest part of the summer, but they should perform well with little or no water toward the latter part of the summer. Lupine, or Texas bluebonnet, grows 12"-18" high with divided leaves and spikes of flowers in deep blue, purple, yellow, pink or white. Some are fragrant. Gypsophila (annual baby's breath) is an erect, bushy plant, growing one to two feet tall, with tiny white flowers. Cornflower (Centaurea) is a tall, thin-stemmed plant with small flowerheads in blue, pink, rose or white. Cosmos can grow to seven feet tall, with an open, branching habit. It flowers profusely all summer with two-inch, semi-double, golden yellow flowers. Stock blooms early on a tall spike with many small flowers on it. Lychnis, or catchfly, is a hardy, old-fashioned garden plant, growing 12-inch tall with saucer-shaped flowers in white, pink, blue or lavender. The leaves are long, narrow and pointed. Shirley poppies are slender, branching plants two to five feet high with short, irregularly divided leaves. The flowers are two inches across and come in red, pink, white, orange, scarlet or salmon. Sounds like your new wildflower garden will have a wonderful variety of foliage textures and flower colors.
--National Gardening Association
