This is the season when American holly (Ilex opaca) reaches its peak popularity. The use of its shiny evergreen spine-tipped leaves and red berries has long played an important role during the Christmas holidays. It is the hardiest of the broadleaf evergreens grown in our area, a logical fact since this holly is a native … Read more
Persian Parrotia is one of our gardens’ most interesting woody plants. Brilliant foliage coloration makes this tall shrub or small tree particularly distinctive in the autumn. Parrotia: Witch-Hazel Family Parrotia is a member of the witch-hazel family bearing close resemblance to these winter-blooming shrubs and fothergillas. Like other hardy and interesting plants in this family, … Read more
Ever since I contracted “gardening fever,” I dreamed of a “careless garden,” devoid of much of the backbreaking labor and constant attention my friends found necessary to maintain their home grounds. Imbued with this idea from the first, I planned my garden to provide year-round color, using only plants that require a minimum of care. … Read more
Actually, a house built on a slope need not be a problem for the owner who tackles the job after carefully studying all angles. Part I of this story of the October issue of “Horticulture” tells how to make slopes stable. In Part II of this story, Dr. Viertel discusses moving the soil, grading, and … Read more
Mention of holly brings visions of red berries highlighting sprays of dark green, shiny leaves, imparting to door, mantel, or table the aura of Christmas joy. But holly means far more than familiar holiday sprays. It means stately, dense evergreen trees, hedges of unequaled beauty and utility, low thick shrubs, deciduous trees, and even golden … Read more
All too often, the rose catalogs use the word “hardy” to describe roses that cannot survive the average northern winter without careful protection. Unfortunately, this is likely why many gardeners decide they cannot grow them. They buy rose plants described as hardy, then the plants die the first winter, and so the conclusion is that … Read more
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