Some people build all sorts of contrivances to lure hummingbirds into their garden. It was not our intention to invite them in when we planted flax and firecracker fuchsias in our Millbrae, California, garden. Plants: Magnets to the Hummingbirds But these plants are magnets to all the hummingbirds in the neighborhood. We have a whole … Read more
Plants with variegated foliage offer unusual possibilities in a garden. They may be used to create dramatic effects and are particularly valuable in shade or where flowers are scarce. However, there should be a reason for using plants with variegated markings, whether for accents, for borders with green and white as the motive, for ground … Read more
The species of Ononis (rest-harrows of gardens), which are hardy in northern Michigan are mostly desirable plants, not alone because of their ease of culture, but for their summer-flowering habit and pleasing colors. Most kinds should also be welcomed by gardeners in the United States because of their ability to get along on little moisture. … Read more
One by one, our children have lost the simple, inexpensive pleasures of years gone by. Going nutting was one of these pleasures. Nothing gave the youth of an earlier day more delight than excursions to gather chestnuts, black walnuts, or hickory nuts. The loss of our countless chestnut trees through blight and the constant spread … Read more
In the hierarchy of vines, large-flowered hybrid clematis rank close to the top. Their startling flowers, some measuring 10” inches across, in red, pink, blue, purple, or white, bring rave notices. Trained on a wall, a doorway trellis, a fence, a lamppost, in the perennial garden, or even in a large tub, they make a … Read more
In many of our gardens, some situations prevent the successful growth of the rank and file of popular garden plants. Most of us are familiar with such trouble areas as shady spots. wet spots, banks, and the like—areas which mar our gardens’ beauty if left completely bare, especially if they are within view of the … Read more
The time to see Gordonia trees at the peak of their effectiveness is late August and September. During this season, it’s rather loose but upright figure is casually starred with white, cuplike blossoms nearly 3” inches across in a set of long, shining leaves, colors ranging from deep green to scarlet. Whether its height is … Read more
You don’t have to look far at this time of the year to find the makings for a lot of compost. Some leaves are already beginning to fall and there are vegetable plants that have yielded their crop and are now ready to go back and replenish the soil. Compost making, you might say, isn’t … Read more
Even as we are still enjoying the harvests from our gardens, the start of another busy planting year is already upon us. One need only leaf through the pages of spring catalogs to see that. Your Fall Planning Program For Successful Gardening Your fall planning should include a program for soil building since gardening success … Read more
Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens syn. Libocedrus decurrens) is one of the few trees native to the West Coast that will cheerfully take all of the many zones. climates and exposures of the Pacific states. It is an evergreen mountain, wild from Baja California, north into the Cascades. Incense-cedar is hardy in Massachusetts; in the West, … Read more