Photographers might be amazed to learn that a very old garden perennial could furnish enough light to be photographed at night long before the modern flashbulb or speedlight was invented. Such a plant is the Dictamnus albus, appropriately called the “gas-plant” or “burning bush.” The flower stalks of Dictamnus (pronounced dick-TAM-nuss) are heavily coated with … Read more
Few plants have everything— neat foliage, fragrant, attractive flowers, the possibility of fruit, and the case of culture. Yet the one which comes closest to this perfection, in my opinion, is Carissa grandiflora, specifically its variety, Nana compacta, the dwarf, spineless Natal plum. Carissa Grandiflora’s Striking Features This particular variety of carissa has dark, shiny, … Read more
Expanses of unadorned walls are becoming a part of our American scene. This is equally true of residential as well as business structures. To the designer, these large unbroken areas represent today’s concept of functional design. To the builder, they mean faster production. To the gardener, these blank walls may be considered new canvases against … Read more
Although you may have rampant color in your shady garden in spring, summer flowers that bloom prolifically there are scarce. So you turn to other ways of making a shady garden interesting and of keeping it that way all season. Accessories As Focal Points For Your Shady Garden First of all, you can introduce such … Read more
When you arrange your patio, throw away preconceived notions. Work with a free hand and a free mind, confident that with patioscaping, anything goes and everything grows. For once, in gardening, you create the environment and are not the unwilling accomplice to it. If you want the patio in partial shade, roof it over with … Read more
At the same time that spring-flowering trees are adding spectacular beauty to a garden picture, their tree foams accent the mass-like shape of bushes in the shrubbery border, planted near the house or in the garden. Their different forms tend to pull a design together rather than crowd it, as often happens when too many … Read more
Allamanda (al-uh-MAN-da) is a perennial flowering plant commonly pruned into an evergreen shrub that belongs to the genus Allamanda and is a member of the family Apocynaceae (a-pos-ih-NAY-see-ee). The genus Allamanda was named after Dr. Frederick Allamand, a Swiss botanist. This evergreen creeping shrub is native to the tropical regions of South and Central America … Read more
The passionflower is a delicate, perennial flowering vine known for its deep-lobbed flower. Its Latin name is Passiflora incarnata, pronounced as [pass-iff-FLOR-uh] [in-kar-NAH-tuh]. The Passifloraceae [pas-ih-flor-AY-see-ee] family is native to the Americas, thriving in tropical regions. Passionflowers can also be referred to as: Passiflora (botanical name) Passion vines Apricot Vine Maypop Stinking Passionflower Bush passion … Read more
The lilac tree, or common lilac, is a species of a perennial flowering multi-stemmed tiny tree that belongs to the Oleaceae family, which is the family of olive shrubs. The plant is originally native to the rocky hills of the Balkan Peninsula, which include parts of modern-day Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, etc. … Read more
Nothing adds more charm to the outside of a house than floral trimming. The present-day revival of interest in window box gardening promises much in the way of decoration. Modern homes, especially, will find their functional lines softened and tied to the landscape by using flower- or greenery-filled window boxes. There is nothing new about … Read more