Crocus come in about three main categories. Earliest of them are the species, of which there are many. These are called winter-flowering, and will bloom at the slightest slackening of wintry weather. Most of these are quite small in size but tough and willing to make considerable increases so that after a few years, they … Read more
The delightful, unpretentious charm of the small-flowered bulbs is the first attraction of the garden year. Without them, spring would be like a play without the first act. Most of these little gems demand nothing more than to be planted in soil reasonably suited to their needs and then left alone. The catalog will be … Read more
Can you look forward to another season of colorful flowers when early frosts mow down zinnias, asters, and the other annuals in your garden? You can, if you have plantings of the hardy bulbs which, set out in late summer, make welcome patches of bloom on crisp October and November days to view the brilliance … Read more
If Sternbergia Lutea had sat for its portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and if its descendants were painted today, the yellow faces would be identical. Gardeners have become so accustomed to new, improved varieties of plants that it is a surprise to see a flower that has remained unchanged for more than two centuries. Finding … Read more
Bounteous beauty can be enjoyed in the garden and the home with Fall-flowering bulbs. However, when most flowers are gone, colchicums, Autumn crocuses, sternbergias, and hardy amaryllis stage their gay display. From late August until Winter draws the curtain, they are wonderful for rock gardens, perennial borders, and indoor gardens where they make an elaborate … Read more
The English names for colchicum are “autumn-crocus” and “meadow-saffron,” which are misnomers. Numerous species and varieties of the true crocus bloom in the fall; the saffron of commerce is a crocus (Crocus sativus). Although the flowers of colchicum and crocus look alike, they are not closely related, belonging not only to different genera but also … Read more
The lesser-known beauties are like frosting on a cake: no one would construct a garden just from these, but mingled with old standbys like phlox, gaillardia, and summer annuals, they create lovely surprises. A few are hardy far into northern states. Half of the best on my list can be wintered successfully outdoors as far … Read more
South of the equator, spring comes in September and October. And here in our Northern Hemisphere, fall-flowering colchicum, crocus, and hardy amaryllis can stage a dramatic spring-like show in your garden in late summer or early fall. Unlike any other fall flower, they bring the same urgency and spontaneity that characterize and make spring-flowering bulbs … Read more
Outside of Holland’s Keukenhof Gardens, one of the best displays of tulips, daffodils, and other flowering spring plants is at the 125-acre Sterling Forest Gardens near Tuxedo, N. Y. More than a million blooms here may be seen in a setting that includes 30 square miles of lakes and natural forests. Only 40 miles from … Read more
During summer, when the heat and insects outdoors make us too uncomfortable, we retreat to the living room and console ourselves with our bit of indoor greenery. Our hearth is decorated with several plants, but Hydrosme rivieri, the voodoo plant, is the most prominent. The picture shows it next to our simple old fireplace, which … Read more