How many suburban places could have their general appearance improved if the masonry walls flanking the driveway or turn-around, or the walls enclosing the terrace, were converted into wall gardens? How many hours of strenuous pushing a lawn mower up and down steep slopes could be saved? Were the lawn graded into several levels separated … Read more
Among the choice company of hardy shrubs with winter bloom, none is more pleasing than Viburnum fragrans. During mild weather, the flower buds expand into 2″ inch clusters of delightfully fragrant pink flowers. This may be as early as January, but more often, it is in March and April. The blooms are amazingly hardy and … Read more
About 1830, Colonel Roulet found an exceedingly small rose growing in a pot on the windowsill of a Swiss cottage. The Colonel immediately informed a friend, the botanist M. Henri Correvon, and cuttings were obtained from the plant which was estimated to be 150 years old at the time. Although this rose was not officially … Read more
Lythrum (‘Morden Rose’ and ‘Morden Gleam’) is one of the best hardy perennials for continuous summer bloom. It starts blooming in June from terminal branches and keeps sending out long spikes of lovely rose-colored flowers from new growth all summer. These thrums, or rosy loosestrifes, grow to 3’ to 4’ feet, with ‘Morden Gleam’ the … Read more
Gardens Are for People, a provocative title for an extraordinary book by Thomas D. Church, carries a message to inspire thousands of homeowners to consider gardens from an entirely new viewpoint. Although little can be added to all that has been written about gardening through the ages, Mr. Church, with superb pictures and well-chosen words, … Read more
For those who like bright color combinations and a quickly-grown house plant, the coleus or painted nettle is an ideal choice. Nothing is more startling than a bright window filled with them. Grown for their brilliant leaves, they have aptly named coleus, meaning “bright sheath.” The coleus, a shrubby annual or perennial herb of the … Read more
The rock spray has become one of the most widely used of all cotoneasters, and justly so, for it has ornamental qualities of value to the gardener every season of the year. No cotoneasters are native to North America; most come from Eastern Asia. Cotoneaster Horizontalis “Rock Spray” The rock spray (Cotoneaster horizontalis), probably the … Read more
The Garden of Eden of Biblical days, that fabulous habitat of Adam and Eve — is now being restored in the Land of the Bible. Plants In Israel As in the days some 4,000 years ago, so today we find in Israel the following: Man-Made Forest Although the trees were part of natural forests in … Read more
Autumn-fruiting raspberries are a boon to home gardeners because they produce a crop in the fall and the usual one during early summer. The term “everbearing” is often applied to them; however, it is unsuitable. They do not bear fruit continuously but bear the usual crop over 3 or 4 weeks in July and then … Read more
Leptospermum scoparium is an upright evergreen shrub that belongs to the genus Leptospermum and is a member of the Myrtaceae or Myrtle family that comprises 3300 species and 150 genera of shrubs and trees. Some notable members of this family include Allspice, Acca, Bay rum tree, clove, eucalyptus, guava, Myrtle, and pohutukawa, making them close … Read more