Few garden plants are as truly American or as deeply loved and appreciated as flowering dogwood. Dogwood blooms wild in the woods in early spring from Massachusetts to Florida, then west to the Great Lakes and Texas. Picturesque sprays of white flowers, set on delicate branches, unfold just as the leaves of other forest trees … Read more
The evergreen trees described on “The Beginning Gardener” page were the kinds most often used as Christmas trees. There are others equally useful and beautiful—yew (Taxus), cypress (Cupressus), arborvitae (Thuja), larch (Larix), and bald-cypress (Taxodium distichum). The redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and big-tree (S. gigantea), and dawn-redwood (Metasequoia) have interesting historical and botanical backgrounds. These all … Read more
Today, greenhouse and florists are receiving more and more inquiries about varieties of plants suitable for hanging baskets or wall planters. No doubt, this ties in with today’s increased use of plants for home decoration. For somehow, a plant suspended in the air, growing up and down and all around, takes on added beauty. This … Read more
Driveways and walks are mainly functional. They usually are the quickest way to go from street to house or vice versa. For economic reasons, both drives and walks need to cover only necessary distances. Eliminate extra curves, wide sweeps, and “islands” if you want to accent the functional. If a lovely tree or a natural … Read more
A few warm days in March and early April and our rose-hungry souls hurry over anxious hands to the clippers. Out we go to start pruning, which will create new growth. Or perhaps we cannot wait to uncover those roses and get that tiresome work out of the way. Two Things To Do To Succeed … Read more
Essentially every design embodies an idea that is dynamic or static. Like a piece of music, a garden can be composed with a recurrent theme, a rising and falling cadence, and definite accents at regular intervals. The composition may be filled with movement and lively contrasts or sink to a dead level. Nature will always … Read more
Amateur gardeners have neglected some of the best climbers that grow quickly in almost any climate. Even though it was introduced into our country from Japan 50 years ago, one that is seldom seen is the climbing hydrangea. It bears splendid tresses of white flowers in July and August, and as it clings readily to … Read more
When choosing trees and shrubs for home ground beautification, we should keep in mind their landscape value and their value as havens of refuge and food sources for birds. Thus we may enjoy the enlivening flashes of birds’ wings about our homes, their cheerful songs, and their entertaining seasonal antics without violating the principles of … Read more
The part of Midwest America between the 37th and 42nd latitudes is blessed with many trees suitable for planting around one’s home, whether it be a mansion on a hundred acres or a small house on a city lot. Although our native trees are beautiful, we sometimes think a few are overworked and yearn for … Read more
Would you like to grow roses with a minimum of care? Roses in my north Louisiana are evergreen and bloom 10 months of the year. Roses with foliage in spring are colored from pink or chartreuse to blood and bronze-red, making the plant almost a bouquet. Then grow TEA roses. Pleasant Tea Roses Tea roses … Read more