Several years ago, when I checked one of the country’s best nursery catalogs, I found over 50 species and varieties of our native wildflowers listed as common garden flowers. Other varieties, such as the lovely new tradescantias, were horticultural or hybrids with native wildflower ancestry. However, there are still many native wildflowers with garden values … Read more
Gardening in the lower South may seem a topsy-turvy process to gardeners elsewhere, for the season’s activities begin in the fall, reach their peak about January, and are almost at a standstill in June. During the summer, gardens—and gardeners—take it easy. The combination of heat and moisture (unlike California, our rainy season is in the … Read more
Lilies have become so popular that many gardeners are trying varieties that would have been seen in a few private gardens not too long ago. Not only are average gardeners planting lilies, but they are finding that the old myth about lilies being difficult to grow is just that—a myth. Today, with all the new … Read more
The one sure way to prevent that sudden let-down feeling in the hardy border after the last tulips fade is to have Oriental poppies coming on to take their place. There are, of course, tall bearded iris in many lovely colors, but none of which carry on the dramatic impact of the tulips, especially in … Read more
After midsummer, the interest in shrub plantings is carried almost entirely by types with brightly colored fruits and foliage. However, several shrubs furnish attractive bloom right up to frosts, and the succession may continue through the winter, with some shrubs in bloom outdoors virtually every week. Bluebeard Species The Bluebeards are hard to beat for … Read more
Can you look forward to another season of colorful flowers when early frosts mow down zinnias, asters, and the other annuals in your garden? You can, if you have plantings of the hardy bulbs which, set out in late summer, make welcome patches of bloom on crisp October and November days to view the brilliance … Read more
It is hard to get in the mood for gardening or even planning for your garden when the temperatures are soaring toward the century mark. That’s when it is nice to take advantage of previous foresight and sit in the shade of a tree. We have enjoyed the shade of the big sprawling Amur honeysuckle … Read more
If any hardy flower has gained popularity more rapidly during recent years than the lily, we do not know what it is. The old idea that they are extremely difficult to grow is fast fading out, and rightly so! Many modern lilies are much easier to grow than their predecessors. This, plus better control of … Read more
Because of the widespread publicity some years ago on the high susceptibility of lilies to diseases, many gardeners even now have the impression that the “queen” of flowers is difficult to grow. This is certainly not so. Disease-free and disease-tolerant kinds are now available, which can be grown with as little trouble as many other … Read more
If Sternbergia Lutea had sat for its portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and if its descendants were painted today, the yellow faces would be identical. Gardeners have become so accustomed to new, improved varieties of plants that it is a surprise to see a flower that has remained unchanged for more than two centuries. Finding … Read more