Amaranth
Thanks to all our customers who visited our store during the past two weeks! My family and I appreciate your patronage. Several customers have asked me questions about a particular flower I added to a few of our market bouquets. They have been remarking about amaranth. Amaranth is a genus of plants, a few of which farmers raise for food or to use as ornamental plants. As food, farmers harvest this perennial as a cereal or a vegetable. I’ve planted four varieties of amaranth this year: Hot Biscuits (Amaranthus cruentus), Green Tails (Amaranthus caudatus), Opopeo (Amaranthus hybridus), and Garnet Red (Amaranthus hypochondriacus). Appearance-wise, clusters of copper flowers complimented by green leaves characterize Hot Biscuits; Green Tails possesses long, cascading plumes of pale yellowish green florets; Opopeo features maroon floral spikes offset by variegated maroon/emerald foliage; and my favorite, Garnet Red, reaching heights of 6 to 8 feet, has lush reddish…