As the weather turns warm and spring flowers bloom, the urge to get out into the countryside is strong. Summer vacation is near, so you start planning a trip. FLOWER GROWER travel hounds who search out beautiful garden spots to visit have come up this time with some very special ones. Tulip Time Every year … Read more
You don’t have to be Irish to love the bells of Ireland, Moluccella laevis. Actually, they don’t come from Ireland but are native to western Asia. Everyone who sees them in my garden comments on their novel handsomeness. They have been a longtime favorite with me—not only because of their attractiveness in the garden and flower … Read more
Bulbs are for everyone who grows plants or who arranges flowers. They’re for beginners who’ll give them a minimum of know-how and care and for experts who take great boundless patience and skill. There’s no end to their usefulness as garden plants and no limit to their value as flowers for the home. In early … Read more
This is the time of year when hardy spring-blooming bulbs— snowdrops, crocus, scillas, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, and others— brighten the gardens with their colorful blossoms. And the time of year when questions concerning them arise. They are appealing, coming into bloom quickly after a season without flowers. People want to plant some at once today … Read more
One of the most attractive and promising flowering pot plants to come to America in many years is the yellow-flowered Kaempferia decora, a plant known to botany for less than a decade and native to the grassy woodlands of Portuguese East Africa. Kaempferia Decora Roots of this new rare Kaempferia were sent to Europe from … Read more
For an unusual and lovely houseplant, try this coral-red lily-like bulb. It is a near relation to the Guernsey lily of the amaryllis family. It is easy to grow and entirely free from insect pests or fungus diseases. Unusual Shade Of Coral Red Both corolla and stamens are an unusual shade of coral red – … Read more
Several years ago, our hyacinth shrubs (Xanthoceras sorbifolium) had a bountiful crop of seeds in the fall. So we decided to try growing some of these lovely plants from seed. Eventually, xanthoceras grow as high as 15′ feet. The 1″ inch flowers are white with a yellow or red blotch at the petal’s base. These … Read more
It isn’t easy to imagine a more varied, interesting, or pleasing lot of plants than is embraced in the genus fritillaria. The hooks tell us there are more than seventy distinct species; some of these, like the checkered lily and the Crown Imperial, are further divided into several named varieties. This diversified group has a … Read more
When we consider that there are more than 100 miniature narcissi, almost 100 tulip species (including their varieties), at least 75 species of crocus, and hosts of other miniature bulbs, we can readily understand that we are dealing with a large field. Because of the tremendous popularity generated by the large exhibitions at the various … Read more
Tulips can’t paint your garden with exquisite color from March through May, but many artificial tulip hues from hybridizing tend to clash with one another. Therefore, before ordering bulbs, it is wise to study the varieties offered in color-illustrated catalogs and note pleasing color combinations in the tulip plantings you visit. For color, coordination buys … Read more