Misadventures in Gardening

Plant of the Day

Saturday 22 November 2025

A clump forming herbaceous perennial Bistorta amplexicaulis 'Alba' (white-flowered red bistort) has delicate white flower spikes. This pollinator friendly plant will thrive in sun or partial shade with a moist soil.

Amaryllis taken from 'Plantes Rare du Jardin de Geneve' by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle.

Published 1829 by Librairie de J. Barbezat et Compie.

Missouri Botanical Garden.

Stem of flowering Dianthus gallicus and planted Cortusa matthioli. After Alexander Francis Lydon.

Wood engraving printed in colour.

Illustration to David Wooster's 'Alpine Plants' (London: 1872).

© The Trustees of the British Museum.

One-leaved Strawberry or Strawberry of Versailles taken from 'The Botanical Magazine' by William Curtis.

Published 1787.

Missouri Botanical Garden.

Plant of the Day

Saturday 8 November 2025

Usually grown as an annual Ipomoea lobata (Spanish flag) is a twining climber reaching up to 5m in height. The crimson-flushed stems bear one-sided racemes of small, tubular, dark red flowers which fade to orange and then a creamy yellow. Plants thrive in a moist but well-drained soil in full sun with sheltered from cold winds.