The little pond is one of the wild garden’s greatest attractions. Bayberry shrubs, pickerel weed, arrowhead, and golden clubs grow on its banks. A quiet haven for nature lovers, particularly those interested in our native flora, is the wildflower area of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. While there, enjoying its peace and beauty, it is hard … Read more
Picture yourself on a hot midsummer day gazing from your host’s terrace onto the brilliantly colored day-lily border shown above. You are told that there was a good display in early June and that there will still be many flowers in September. As you sit and try to keep cool, you reflect on the work … Read more
If someone told you that you could garden without getting your hands dirty, with no weed pulling, watering, fertilizing, or cultivating, you would probably say, “Tell me more about it.” Instead, the seemingly magic process is naturalizing daffodils. In broad general terms, naturalizing means that plants—in this case, daffodils—are grown the way they would be … Read more
One need not become a lily specialist to profit from adding lilies to his general garden scheme. Indeed, it is doubtful if any other group of flowering plants will add more interest and beauty to the overall landscape effect than a collection of lilies. They may be in bloom from June well into September. They … Read more
A new world of geraniums is to be found in the dwarf and miniature varieties. The classification of miniatures has not yet been approved. Still, at a recent meeting of the Board of Directors of the International Geranium and Pelargonium Society, they decided on a temporary classification of miniatures not to exceed 6” to 8” … Read more
Pacific Coast iris enhance the beauty of any rockery or border where they are planted. These lovely species, native only to a strip of our Western coast from lower Washington to California, are becoming increasingly popular with gardeners interested in small irises. Not to be confused with miniature or dwarf types, these Apogon (beardless) family … Read more
For many years, the strain of bulbous iris called “Dutch” iris has been limited to three or four colors in which blue was very dominant. Dutch Iris Varieties WEDGWOOD, a light blue-flowered variety with narrow yellow signals on the falls, was one of the most popular and widely used. Its adaptability for greenhouse forcing made … Read more
The oriental poppy is one of the sturdiest and most handsome of perennials. As plants grow older they produce more and more blooms and it is not uncommon to find plants twenty years old or older still producing a gorgeous display. Wide Variety of Soils They grow well almost everywhere except the very warmest parts … Read more
I have wide varieties of veronicas in my several borders, giving much of the all-summer color in my plantings. The tall blue flowered sorts double in hot, dry sections for delphiniums which are not reliably hardy here. Since my borders are extensive, I have come to use “self-supporting” plants as much as possible. Veronicas completely … Read more
Some of us wonder if you may care to tell us about the life tinder on the soil’s surface. We know that life there runs along for Mother Nature quite carefree without much interference from Homo sapiens. Life Under The Soil Surface Everyone has found life down there—worms, ants, and plenty of other wigglers he … Read more