The issue of “Plants and Gardens,” the publication of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden for Summer 1949, contains an article entitled “Diseases in the Lily Garden” by Philip Brierley. Most of the information in this article is sound, as far as my experience is concerned, and the article is valuable and informative. However, one statement seems … Read more
The phlox family is the most interesting one. Besides phlox, it includes polemonium, gilia, and cobaea. Many of us know the native polemonium with its lovely blue flowers and compound leaves which is quite common in many of the woods from New York to Minnesota to Kansas to Alabama. We sometimes call it Jacob’s Ladder, … Read more
Peonies are just as popular today as they were m our great-grandmother’s day. Their continued esteem by gardeners is easy to understand when we consider the following: Soil Preparation Given their sterling, long-lasting qualities, peonies pay extra attention to site selection and soil preparation. Select, if possible, a location in the full sun well away … Read more
From the orient have come some of our loveliest garden flowers. The exotic Japanese iris is one of them. It is a valuable addition to any garden, large or small, not only for its big, iridescent, saucer-shaped flowers. It blooms at just the right time to bridge the gap between the roses delphinium-Madonna lily display … Read more
Our half-acre garden has seen many changes in the 33 years we have been working on it. When we moved out of the city, our thoughts were much the same as those of other new suburbanites—grow a lot of vegetables, have chickens, and let my wife have her little flower garden near the house. A … Read more
It is a foregone conclusion that no one will ever grow the perfect peony. But our aim should be to approach this goal as nearly as possible. The following will give such directions as will best help us to come within a reasonable distance of this end. Growing Perfect Peonies First, we must have a … Read more
One morning in 1942, while inspecting our iris seedlings, I was startled when I saw that one of the buds just opening was a deep pink, almost rose red. I had never seen a pure pink iris before, but it had been my dream for many years. Within a few days, seven more pink flowers … Read more
Although American hybridizers have been growing bearded irises for little more than fifty years, they have produced countless numbers of the most beautiful irises in the world today. Now a new area is being explored, including all the middle-sized bearded iris referred to as medians. These vary in height from a maximum of 28” inches … Read more
The royal group of spectacular flowering bulbs, the Haemanthus or blood lilies, forming one of the amaryllis family’s most colorful and aristocratic sections, shows a strong and steady upward trend toward greater popularity and appreciation in America. European greenhouse growers have always beloved the Haemanthus, and a few outstanding hybrids have been reported from the … Read more
The Madonna lily, Lilium candidum, has been cultivated in gardens for a long time for over 3,400 years. Such popularity is richly deserved, for it is the loveliest lily in existence. Fortunately, it is also one of the easiest to raise successfully in ordinary garden soil. It is a particularly good choice for our mid-America … Read more