On the Pacific coast, where the number of firethorn (pyracantha) varieties is increasing, it is not easy for the newcomer to make his choice. Pyracantha Graberi In California, Pyracantha Graberi, with its vigorous growth and huge clusters of very large glossy, scarlet berries is one of the best. It is one of the hybrids of … Read more
West Coast gardeners cannot hobnob together for long without the question “How do you grow lupines?” cropping up. Many want to know where they can get plants and seeds, yet nurserymen say there is no demand and carry little stock. “They can’t be grown.” some gardeners tell me. “The seed won’t come up, and they … Read more
Nothing is more restful yet cheerful year-round than green foliage. My choice of the best foliage plant is the ivy. Collecting ivies over the years and through purchases has been a source of great pleasure, direct importing, trading, and even polite begging. I now have a good number of not only the fascinating new varieties … Read more
Autumn coloration is not usual in broad-leaved evergreens, but drooping leucothoe, Leucothoe catesbaei, has been liberally endowed with this quality. The change in the season and the attention now focused on evergreens make this species’ rich, purplish, and reddish tones unusually noteworthy. This North American shrub has the same scientific and common name; its namesake … Read more
By November, most truly migratory birds have departed. However, many birds undertake a partial migration. They travel, often in huge flocks, from breeding or roosting grounds on a mountain range into valleys and lowlands or roam the countryside for several hundred miles searching for food. Among these partial migratory species are the bluebirds. No North … Read more
And so they come, the long winter months when the garden lies still and withdrawn beneath Nature’s decree of dormancy, and the eye sees only the shadows of shrub and tree limbs starkly stenciled upon the snow. What joy it is then to entice into this bleakness the ardent warmth, the vivacity, the vivid bar … Read more
Topiary art is a form of structural gardening that once had great prominence in the old country. This called for the trimming and training of amenable plants in certain forms of animals, birds, or pieces of furniture. There are today, in America, a few estates where these pieces of garden art have been formed and … Read more
Gardening and fine art may seem, at first glance, rather unrelated. But gardeners know it takes considerable art to create an effective garden picture, and artists find that plants and flowers make interesting subjects for their paintings. The relationship, therefore, can be quite close. When we were first married almost 17 years ago, my artist-husband … Read more
For about 25 years, our local men’s rose club members have debated whether it is desirable to set out new rose bushes in the fall. We are no nearer to settling the question now than when we first began to argue about it. Some do and some don’t. Fall vs. Spring Planting My own opinion … Read more
Each fall, to add variety to winter windows, I pot a few annuals to bring inside before the nights become too cold. First Gilliflowers Last year, I potted an annual stock (gilliflower), which was a great success as a houseplant. The first gilliflowers I ever saw were at an old abandoned farm in New Hampshire. … Read more