Annuals are plants that last through one growing season. Seeds are planted in the spring, grow, and bloom. After maturing their seeds, every part of them dies. They have completed their entire life in one growing season; if they are true annuals, those same plants will not appear again in the spring. However, if there … Read more
The dogwoods range from tiny, 6-inch Cornus canadensis to 75-foot Cornus nuttallii whose large white flowers are shown above in the photograph by Jeannette Grossman. Dogwoods flower in white, pink, red, and yellow shades. In addition to the common sorts, they come in exciting weeping, variegated-leaf, and double-white forms. And, as most of us readily … Read more
Discover the exciting world of succulents. Choose kinds to make your summer garden more colorful. They vary in appearance from the boldly sculptured to the whimsical, but all are plants ideally suited to giving the garden a late-in-the-season face-lifting. As a group, succulents are plants with watery leaves and stems. If you garden in the … Read more
You will discover many advantages in knowing how to increase perennials in this way. I do it mostly for fun, as a hobby. I like to discover how many of my garden plants I can propagate by stern cuttings. Also, I like to exchange perennials with many other gardeners. My choice plants may not be … Read more
If you stop to think about it, you can’t understand why it took so long for people to accept Tom Reilly’s “crazy” idea, It was simple, as simple and natural as the rain falling from heaven or the sunlight warming the upturned leaves of plants and trees. Yet for years, all the experts said it … Read more
Walks and pathways in the right places will help you find more pleasure in working and entertaining in your yard. Study the overall plan for your place to decide the best placement of walks. You will need to provide a generous path for visitors arriving at the front door, and you will want one from … Read more
July is a good time to think about the first step of planning an overall home landscape: how much you can handle without getting tired of gardening. You’ll be wise to start with the minimum—perhaps a good lawn, shade trees, and a few slow-growing evergreens for the foundation planting. After these are doing well, you … Read more
A wealth of plants flower here in July and midsummer. North – Color in the Midsummer Garden Here are some of the plants that provide summer color in the North: Perennials Annuals Biennials Bulbs 44659 by Robert A. Phillips West – Color in the Midsummer Garden Summer color here is provided chiefly by annual and … Read more
In some sections of the West Coast, they spill their flowers in brilliant profusion over slopes, banks, and low walls. In a cool greenhouse or sunroom in winter, they’re among the brightest plants in sight. In summer, hanging baskets or window boxes, in any climate except the hottest, bloom and bloom until you think the basket … Read more
Bottomless buckets, rusty cans, and decrepit bushel baskets become commodities of value when plants need umbrellas. I once used (with much success) an old bushel basket to shade a white deutzia transplanted while it was in bloom. It needed shade and wind protection while recovering from the shock of being moved and while it was … Read more