As the first breath of spring scents the air, the uppermost thought in my mind and many other gardeners is to tread the beaten garden path to watch for the tiny red shoot that will produce a magnificent flower in a few short weeks the peony. This dramatic unfolding of nature is a spring spectacle … Read more
Tucked away in forgotten corners of many gardens are plants of the butterfly iris. Given scant attention and care, these plants faithfully reward their owners with a short but glorious bloom period every spring. For some decades, the butterfly iris, or spuria, has been a neglected member of the iris family. But this will no … Read more
Crossandra (kross-AN-druh) is a tropical, evergreen shrub belonging to the genus Crossandra and the Acanthaceae family, more commonly known as the Acanthus family. The genus Crossandra came from the Greek word “Kross,” meaning fringe or tassels, and the feminine Greek word “andra,” hence the meaning “having a fringed stamen or fringed anthers.” This tropical subshrub … Read more
Indoors or out, you’ll be swept away by the charm of geraniums—their happy display is insuppressible for geraniums flaunt all the warm, cheerful spectrum colors, sharpened with an immaculate dash of white. And their leaves are a delight to the senses. Consider, for example, the soft fur of kitten’s ear geranium, the spicy fragrance of … Read more
Division of tree peonies is so uncertain and slow that we must resort to grafting—a specialist’s job if ever there was one—to propagate this plant. Different Peony Propagation Methods Grafting Tree Peonies Japanese gardeners used to graft peonies on roots of the wild species, suffruticosa, but so much trouble arose from the vigorously sprouting habits … Read more
One of the outstanding features of the iris family is its long season of bloom. In the early spring, while the weather is still cool, the violet-blue flowers of Iris atroviolacea open close to the ground. This is a charming form that has been in cultivation for over 100 years. Ten days later, the many … Read more
Whether you know it as tulip poplar, whitewood, tulip tree, yellow poplar, or simply poplar, it is the same handsome giant, straight as a flagpole, with yellow-green and orange tuliplike blossoms nestling in June among big four-lobed leaves that turn to glow yellow when autumn comes. It has been rightly said that a tulip poplar … Read more
For years, we have struggled to produce bigger and better things, but we have finally come to our senses and have begun to demand the small and the compact. It was inevitable that the world of horticulture should be affected by this trend. Miniature roses, gladiolus, orchids, cannas, iris, and daffodils have made their successful … Read more
For 50 years, I have grown tree peonies. I remember my first glimpse of them in the catalog of an old British firm, Kelway & Co. Even those little prints seemed to be the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen—blooms of exquisite form and delicate texture, heavy buds, and dark foliage like Jorms in … Read more
Do you have “chrysanthemania?” There are several symptoms: The quickening of the pulse when standing in front of a display where the big mums are “showing off” in the fall and the feeling of envy when a fellow gardener casually shows you an exhibition size mum they have grown in their garden. There’s no absolute … Read more