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VOA健康报道2022--Eight Garden Flowers Worth Revisiting

时间:2022-04-28 05:39:33

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(单词翻译)

Eight Garden Flowers Worth Revisiting

In Thornton Wilder's 1938 play Our Town, people gather to enjoy the beloved scent1 of heliotrope2 flowers in the moonlight.

The scene is memorable3. At the time, the wonderfully light, but deeply sweet smell of heliotrope could be found in most American gardens.

Today, however, these flowering plants are rarely seen, or smelled, in the United States. Americans stopped growing heliotrope and other Victorian period flowers. Hybrids5 and small, dense6 bedding plants are the substitutes in many gardens.

Gardening expert Jessica Damiano writes for the Associated Press. She regrets the disappearance7 of these once common plants. In a recent report, she writes that gardeners should consider planting Victorian garden flowers.

Four o'clocks (Mirabilis japala, Mirabilis multiflora)

Damiano suggests four o'clocks as one candidate. These white, red, pink, purple, or yellow, flowers are shaped like trumpet8 musical instruments. Their petals10 open daily in late afternoon. They appear from spring until frost - the time when ice starts to form overnight.

The plant for these flowers does not require much care or water. It renews easily and gives out a sweet, lemony scent that brings bees, butterflies and hummingbirds11 to the plant to feed.

Cosmos12 (Cosmos bipinnatus)

The daisy-like cosmos grows from early summer through frost. Some even grow year-round in warmer climates. All of them self-seed, ensuring the flowers grow for years to come.

The plant should grow in full sun, except for in southernmost areas, where they can use some shade. The flowers are colored in yellow, pink, orange, red, purple, white and maroon13.

Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus)

Pink, purple, red, white or mixed color, the vine plant sweet peas blooms yearly during spring and early summer. The flower carries the scent of grapes in full sun in northern zones. In the south, it requires some afternoon shade.

Kiss me over the garden gate (Persicaria orientalis)

Kiss me over the garden gate was a favorite flower of America's third president, Thomas Jefferson.

This easy-care plant grows to nearly 2 meters tall making it perfect for the back of the garden. Its pink flowers hang from the plant in big bunches. In areas with cold winters, plant the seeds directly into the garden in autumn; in warm climates, keep them very cold for a week before planting outside.

Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea)

Pink, purple, peach, red, white, yellow or near-black, hollyhock flowers will cover the plant's 2.5 meter tall stalks from top to bottom. The large-leaved plants are biennial14, which means they live for two years and bloom only in their second year. But they do self-seed, so there will always be more flowers to come.

Plant them in full sun in the north and part shade in hot climates and provide a fence or similar structure for support.

English primroses15 (Primula vulgaris)

There are nearly 500 kinds of primroses in many colors. But most gardens likely include the yellow-flowered ones. The short-lived flowers that return yearly prefer partly wet, partly shady conditions. Grow them in winter in the south and the spring elsewhere.

Soapwort (Saponaria)

Soapwort is a flowering herb. The groundcover blooms in late-spring and summer. It returns every year and can grow as high as one meter. Plant seeds directly into the garden in a sunny spot in spring. Remove dead flowers to avoid overgrowth.

You can make a liquid cleanser from soapwort. Cut up about 130 grams of the plant's leaves and stems. Place them in around 500 milliliters of boiling water. Bring down the heat to a low setting and cook for 15 minutes. Then, cool the liquid and use.

Heliotropes (Heliotropium arborescens)

With a wonderful, strong scent of cherry, almond and vanilla16, heliotropes are grown yearly and available in several colors. The dark purple color flower was noted17 in the famous Thornton Wilder play.

Plant them in full sun everywhere except the deep South. There, the flowers will do best if provided some afternoon shade.

Words in This Story

scent - n. a pleasant smell that is produced by something like flower

scene - n. part of a play in which a particular action takes place

hybrid4 - n. something that is formed by combining two or more things

petal9 - n. the soft, colorful part of a flower

shade - n. a dark area where the sun is blocked

stalk - n. a thick or tall stem part of a plant

stem - n. the long, thin part of flower, leaf or fruit that connects it to its plant


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1 scent WThzs     
n.气味,香味,香水,线索,嗅觉;v.嗅,发觉
参考例句:
  • The air was filled with the scent of lilac.空气中弥漫着丁香花的芬芳。
  • The flowers give off a heady scent at night.这些花晚上散发出醉人的芳香。
2 heliotrope adbxf     
n.天芥菜;淡紫色
参考例句:
  • So Laurie played and Jo listened,with her nose luxuriously buried in heliotrope and tea roses.这样劳瑞便弹了起来,裘把自己的鼻子惬意地埋在无芥菜和庚申蔷薇花簇中倾听着。
  • The dragon of eternity sustains the faceted heliotrope crystal of life.永恒不朽的飞龙支撑着寓意着生命的淡紫色多面水晶。
3 memorable K2XyQ     
adj.值得回忆的,难忘的,特别的,显著的
参考例句:
  • This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
  • The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。
4 hybrid pcBzu     
n.(动,植)杂种,混合物
参考例句:
  • That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
  • The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。
5 hybrids a5030918be299fefcf603b9326766b39     
n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 );杂交植物(或动物);杂种;(不同事物的)混合物
参考例句:
  • All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
  • The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的,这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句
6 dense aONzX     
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的
参考例句:
  • The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
7 disappearance ouEx5     
n.消失,消散,失踪
参考例句:
  • He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
  • Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。
8 trumpet AUczL     
n.喇叭,喇叭声;v.吹喇叭,吹嘘
参考例句:
  • He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴,我吹喇叭。
  • The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。
9 petal IMIxX     
n.花瓣
参考例句:
  • Each white petal had a stripe of red.每一片白色的花瓣上都有一条红色的条纹。
  • A petal fluttered to the ground.一片花瓣飘落到地上。
10 petals f346ae24f5b5778ae3e2317a33cd8d9b     
n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • white petals tinged with blue 略带蓝色的白花瓣
  • The petals of many flowers expand in the sunshine. 许多花瓣在阳光下开放。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
11 hummingbirds 86894f7ac4de81bc2d81331e9759a43b     
n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious. 蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
  • Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨?
12 cosmos pn2yT     
n.宇宙;秩序,和谐
参考例句:
  • Our world is but a small part of the cosmos.我们的世界仅仅是宇宙的一小部分而已。
  • Is there any other intelligent life elsewhere in the cosmos?在宇宙的其他星球上还存在别的有智慧的生物吗?
13 maroon kBvxb     
v.困住,使(人)处于孤独无助之境;n.逃亡黑奴;孤立的人;酱紫色,褐红色;adj.酱紫色的,褐红色的
参考例句:
  • Five couples were marooned in their caravans when the River Avon broke its banks.埃文河决堤的时候,有5对夫妇被困在了他们的房车里。
  • Robinson Crusoe has been marooned on a desert island for 26 years.鲁滨逊在荒岛上被困了26年。
14 biennial 7oRyT     
adj.两年一次的
参考例句:
  • The workers were strongly against the biennial election.工人们强烈反对两年一次的选举。
  • His is a biennial,and one of the most useful pasture plants we have.这是两年生植物,也是我们最有用的牧草之一。
15 primroses a7da9b79dd9b14ec42ee0bf83bfe8982     
n.报春花( primrose的名词复数 );淡黄色;追求享乐(招至恶果)
参考例句:
  • Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The primroses were bollming; spring was in evidence. 迎春花开了,春天显然已经到了。 来自互联网
16 vanilla EKNzT     
n.香子兰,香草
参考例句:
  • He used to love milk flavoured with vanilla.他过去常爱喝带香草味的牛奶。
  • I added a dollop of vanilla ice-cream to the pie.我在馅饼里加了一块香草冰激凌。
17 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

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