Summary: The bearded Iris comes in many different colors and breathtaking forms, filling our gardens with color from May to June, but the wide variety we have today was not always the case. Question: I have become fascinated with the Bearded Iris. Do you have any history of the plant? Are the hybrids we see … Read more
Summary: Siberian iris bulbs produce dramatic colors, have undemanding cultural requirements, provide a generous splash of color wherever used with a minimum of effort, and are virtually insect and disease-proof. What more could you ask from in a landscape flower! Question: I’ve heard that Siberian Iris are easy to grow and have minor problems with … Read more
Summary: The native Louisiana swamp Iris is a brilliant star of the floral world, admired for its airy grace and beauty but too often unappreciated as a suitable garden subject. One of the most brilliant stars to blaze across the floral horizon over the years is the native Louisiana swamp iris. For centuries this native … Read more
Of the hundreds of species of iris, one of the most interesting is the lovely Iris dichotoma or Vesper Iris (also called Pardanthopsis). Vesper flowers last longer, and the plants produce more blooms than any other I know, and has many other endearing characteristics. Its delicate blossoms come in lavender tints, pale blue, and rose … Read more
Bearded Iris flowers capture the color symphony of the universe – the blue of sea and sky. The deep turquoise of clear mountain pools, the shining yellow of sunlight, the pure white of snow, the red, gold, and bronze of autumn leaves. The purple merging into the black of the night sky. The jewel tones … Read more
Have you been troubled with your prize iris buds turning brown and mysteriously dying? The chances are that Iris crown rot may be the culprit. Unfortunately, some iris hybrids are more severely attacked than older varieties. Iris Crown Rot Above-ground symptoms of crown rot vary somewhat depending on the particular organism causing the trouble. Wilting, iris leaves … Read more
Among the most beautiful American plants is a sturdy and distinctive shrub native in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and southward through the Blue Ridge. This is mountain stewartia (Stewartia ovata), and fortunately enough, it has a variety that is even more beautiful. With their high Appalachian background, both these shrubs are dependably hardy, … Read more
Like the morning sun, morning glories greet the new day. Unlike the sun, though, they are to be enjoyed for only a few hours, but each successive morning brings more and more flowers that will brighten the garden and greet you with a cheery “good morning.” At the turn of the century, morning-glories, or ipomeas, … Read more
For more than a century the camellia has been held in high regard as a magnificent evergreen shrub and a cut flower. Soon after its introduction to this country (about 1820) from Asia via Europe, it became the pampered pet of northern greenhouses and the aristocrat of southern gardens. A little later, western homesteaders found … Read more
Do you have a partially shaded spot in your flower border or rock garden where a true vibrant blue would make all the difference? If so, then let me urge you to try Anchusa or summer forget-me-not. Anchusa is a biennial, but it can be treated as an annual. Starting Anchusa Seed Start the seed … Read more