Some gardeners must just be the contrary! When the wise ones told me it was impossible to grow Japanese irises in Denver, that was all it took! “Our climate is too dry, too hot in summer, too cold in winter; our soil is too alkaline; Japanese irises are just not grown here.” So, I scouted … Read more
Suppose you have been promising yourself a bed of bearded iris. Get started as soon as possible. Iris planting time is now, and orders for the rhizomes (bulb-like roots) should be placed with growers as soon as possible. The bearded iris is one of the easiest flowers to grow and will tolerate various soils and … Read more
Understanding the Ideal Location for Bearded Irises The ideal location for German Irises and other bearded varieties is on a slope or a level at the top of a slope because of the dryness of good drainage. Incorporating Bearded Irises in a Rock Garden In a rock garden, where a clump or two of dwarf … Read more
As we motor through the countryside, drifts of gold, purple, orange, and blue meet our eyes at every turn. With these glorious flowers blooming along our roadsides, no one need say never has enough flowers for a massed arrangement. The individuality of the flowers is lost in the general effect of uncontrolled growth. Still, when … Read more
We don’t know what kind of garden Kipling had in mind when he wrote, “Such gardens are not made by saying, oh, how beautiful, and sitting in the shade,” but it may have been a continuous-blooming garden or border that flowers from spring to fall. The continuous-blooming garden is the aim of more garden lovers … Read more
Twining vines are usually very vigorous; Akeilia eminent, the five-leaf akebia, is no exception. A native of China, Korea, and Japan, its common name is derived from its compound leaves of five palmately arranged leaflets originating from the same leaf petiole. It grows rapidly once it becomes well-established, growing as much as 15’ feet in … Read more
Red spider lilies (Lycoris radiata) raise their red umbrellas in the flower borders of the middle south during drought-stricken September, bringing the only vivid coloring to a parched land. The umbrella handle is a 2-foot tall scape, bearing an umbel 6/2” inches wide, of 5 to 7 red trumpet-shaped flowers. The perianth segments or “petals” … Read more
When you buy a daffodil bulb, you buy for keeps. No replacement will ever be needed, so your original outlay, spread over 10 to 15 years – by which time the variety may have become outmoded – amounts to about one postage stamp per annum. Not only that, but the bulb you buy will increase, … Read more
Raising flowering annuals indoors is so simple that we wonder why it took so long for us to discover it. If you have a sunny window, you can do it too; you don’t need special window glass or a fancy planting box. The blooms may not achieve greenhouse perfection but are colorful on the sill … Read more
All good gardeners know that the best time to set out new varieties of German iris or to divide established clumps is in June, immediately after they bloom. However, most of us are usually absorbed in a hundred and one more pressing tasks at that time, and often iris does not get the attention it … Read more