One of the difficulties in growing azaleas in many areas west of the Appalachians, in western Pennsylvania and Ohio, for example, is that the soil is not naturally acid and is often alkaline. In addition to this, much of the water supply is hard so it quickly counteracts any artificial acidification of the soil. This … Read more
Many excellent azaleas, natives of Europe and Asia, and America are suitable for growing in New England. If I were limited to five, I think that my choice would be for four native American species and one Japanese. All have been thoroughly tried, all are readily available, and if all were used in the same … Read more
The azalea gardens of the South Atlantic and Gulf Coast area are notorious for their extravagant colors, and visitors from the North plan extensive tours to see them each spring. Spring and azaleas go together, and few severe gardeners in the South do not want an azalea display of their own. Ideal Azalea Growing Requirements … Read more
Azaleas are stagging a comeback from New York City to Washington. D. C. Their popularity will increase as the word spreads that these distinctive shrubs can be reliable and permanent garden assets if they are wisely chosen. A rich, individual character is to the graceful fountains of flowers produced by azaleas. Still, many gardeners in … Read more
Dry stone walls have an appeal all their own. We associate them with charming English gardens and the rocky, picturesque New England countryside. Some of the best of these walls were built by unskilled laborers, and there is no reason why the home gardener cannot enjoy equal success when he makes a wall of his … Read more
Hardy heaths, of which Erica carnea and its horticultural forms (named varieties) are good examples, are excellent rock garden plants, are attractive massed in front of evergreen or flowering shrubs, and, in perennial flower borders, provide a splendid change of pace, their needle-like leaves a pleasant contrast in texture. The major delight in growing them … Read more
Planting fancy-leaved caladiums is an inexpensive and straightforward way of having abundant color in your summer garden. No foliage plants outrank them in brilliance or ease of cultivation, and many modern varieties are as popular flowering plants. These tropical caladiums are splendid for partially shaded places where most blooming plants will not give their best. … Read more
When you see the Carolina silver bell ( Halesia carolina) this spring, look upward through the loose branches at the little white bell-shaped flowers peeping from among the pale green leaves. The most important home-ground value of the silver bell is that its blooms can best be seen from below. This is a rare characteristic … Read more
“The purple petals, fallen in the pool,Make the black water, with their beauty gay,Here might the red-bird come, his plumes to cool,And court the flower that cheapens his array,Rhodora, if the sages ask thee whyThis charm is wasted on earth and sky.Tell them, dear, that if eyes were made for seeing,Then beauty is its own … Read more
Like franklinia and shortia, Carpenteria californica is one of the so-called “lost” plants—discovered, then unsuccessfully searched for, and at last rediscovered. In California it has been in cultivation for thirty-five years. Because there are so few natural stands of bush anemone, it is probably one of the plants seen more often in gardens than in … Read more