Everyone looks at a tree differently, particularly when considering its value. The artistic person believes a tree to be one of the Lord’s most magnificent creations. To a child, a tree is a beautiful place to climb and hide. The lumberman is concerned only with how many “boards” he can get out of a tree. … Read more
If one tree were to be selected as having more uses on the home grounds than any other, I am certain hemlock would be nearly a unanimous choice. The hemlocks are evergreens with small, half-inch-long needles usually borne in flat sprays. Most are trees reaching a height of 100′ feet and, like most cone-bearing trees, … Read more
Canary, a new yellow-berried holly, has bright yellow berries and dark green foliage and is the hardiest of the yellow-berried hollies. The parent tree, now destroyed, stood for many years high up in the Great Smoky Mountains. A lady living near this tree sent me a few branches several years ago. I grew a half … Read more
Winter is a stark reality here in the North in December. The garden is bedded down, and all plants that require special protection should have it before the month is very old. All small deciduous trees planted this year can be protected from sunscald and drying out of the main trunk if the latter is … Read more
Because December has so much activity for the entire family, the garden may easily be neglected. December is usually the month when the ground will be frozen on the surface for the first time of the season. Normally the weather will moderate, the soil surface will thaw, and some digging can be done. December is … Read more
Chestnuts, Buckeyes (or horse-chestnuts), and most acorns must be planted while still moist. If they are permitted to dry out, they will not grow. Seed Germination Seeds should be gathered in September or early fall from selected trees and placed in plastic bags such as arcs used for the deep freeze. However, the closed bags … Read more
The first killing frosts have stopped visible activity in the garden. But many straightforward, warm days give the gardener an urge to dig. This is good because digging the soil is one of the top things that need to be done in November. Expose the earth to the freezing and thawing action of winter. Garden … Read more
Mums dominate this month in our gardens. There is much work to be done—plant daffodils at once in the well-prepared ground. Bone meal is the safest fertilizer. Thrifty buys are Dutch iris, Roman hyacinths, and the graceful little candy stick tulip Clusiana, for these stay with us and multiply. Other tulips and exhibition hyacinths are … Read more
In most of our areas, hard frosts have come by mid-November. Mild weather sometimes holds until Thanksgiving, leaving some hardier annuals such as snapdragons, stocks, sweet alyssum, lobelia, verbena, and petunias still in bloom if they have been protected. Garden mums and roses can be expected to supply great colors right up to a general … Read more
What is the recipe for a sunken garden? What and why are its characters different from the usual garden area? Sunken Areas Of course, no two sunken areas would be treated alike, but certain factors are sure to be present, regardless of location or geographic area. The area included would not be too large, perhaps … Read more