If you have decided that you must have a pear tree in your backyard, it is best to find out about the characteristics and uses of the various varieties before you purchase your tree. Some pears are fine for canning but poor for eating raw. Others are excellent, canned, or raw, and still, others have … Read more
The star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum, includes many species, none native to this country. Hence, they are known to readers only in the cultivated state. The genus belongs to one of the largest and best-known groups of flowering plants — the lily family, numerous species of which are grown in the home: the garden and the … Read more
The growing popularity of the epiphyllum hybrids, also called phyllotactic and popularly known as orchid cactus, has brought about some extensive study of their culture and an enthusiastic zeal in hybridizing for new and better varieties. A commercial dealer propounded the name orchid cactus for its obvious “trade-pulling” power. However, epiphyllums have no relationship to … Read more
Botanically speaking, a buckeye (Aesculus californica) is a horse chestnut. It is a native Californian, but it has been planted as an ornamental in several other parts of the world and deserves to be better known in others. It isn’t a big tree, as such things go, for its maximum height is around 40’ feet. … Read more
When frosty weather comes in the fall, the house plants set out in borders, beds, or window boxes in the spring are too tender to leave outside and often too large to bring inside. Now is the time to start taking cuttings of such plants as geraniums, begonias, coleus, plectranthus, sultana, and wandering Jew. They … Read more
Yes. It is possible to walk through a catalog! Almost every horticultural specialist who publishes a catalog also maintains a display garden, and just as you delight in looking through his catalog, he invites you to ramble through and enjoy his garden. When taking that vacation trip this year, you have a splendid opportunity to … Read more
In June 1946, Harold E. Weaver took five roses to his first show and walked off with five blue ribbons when the judging was over. One of his blooms was judged best in the show, and two others were rated second and third. At the time, only 16 out of the 41 bushes he grew … Read more
The historical rose gardens in Descanso Gardens at La Canada, Calif., preserve numerous species of the oldest known roses. Beginning with the Christian Era, these varieties have been collected from all parts of the globe and planted in labeled groups along walks winding through the area. Oldest Known Roses Gallica Rose One of the oldest … Read more
Rose planting time is just around the corner. If you are a typical gardener, during the past few months, you derived much pleasure from scanning the newest catalogs and deciding which new roses to plant in your garden this spring. As you browsed through the season’s offering of catalogs, you perhaps needed clarification, as many … Read more
For several years, single roses have been out of favor. Modern rose growers have preferred fully double, many-petaled varieties. The popularity pendulum has recently been swinging toward single and semi-double roses. This appreciation is likely due to extensive interest in flower arranging and the realization by rose growers of the need for the contrasting form … Read more