Imaginative home gardeners are discovering that the fragrant hyacinth with its rainbow set of colors need not be confined to formal beds as in Victorian times but lends itself to planting in many areas outdoors around the contemporary home. And for winter enjoyment and indoor decoration, hyacinth bulbs may be grown in pots of soil … Read more
The first tiny bloom peeping through the ice and snow proves that winter’s strength is broken, that the earth is warming, and that spring is near. Often, in my West Virginia little bulb garden, Iris Danfordiae is the first to proclaim the joyful news of spring. This rich-yellow elfin iris sometimes appears as early as … Read more
Spring-flowering bulbs you plant this fall burst into bloom next spring because food needed for flower development is contained in the bulbs at the time you plant them. For flowers in the second and succeeding springs, you must see at planting time that the soil contains nutrients that the plants can use to replenish the … Read more
Since they were first introduced, tulips have been singled out as spring guests that should linger longer. Tulip Festival The tulip festival usually lasts from early April until late May, but through the work of plant explorers and hybridizes, earlier and later varieties have come forth. It is now possible to have tulips at the … Read more
One of the trends in gardening is to do more and more planting in autumn. For many gardeners who habitually bite off more than they can chew in the springtime, fall planting is a lifesaver. The transplanting and dividing you can do, and the new plants you can put in now, will save that much … Read more
Forlorn as the winters outdoors are for color, they are even more lacking in the scents that delight us so much during the other seasons. How much window gardens can add to our enjoyment then if they give perfume as well as color! Flowers For Indoor Gardening The paperwhite narcissus, Chinese sacred lily, hyacinth, and … Read more
Man has always been impressed by the large and showy—and fallen in love with the small and charming. The stately lily may receive much admiration, but it is the tiny hoop-petticoat daffodil that brings him to his knees. Elegant Tree Peonies The “butter man” may ignore the elegant tree peonies in our yard but be … Read more
Lilies are members of the Lilium genus. What could be a more straightforward answer to the question posed by the title than that? But within that simple description is a wealth of possibilities. Divisions typically distinguish lilies. Here are a few examples: Division I contains the Asiatic hybrids. The flowers face upward and have no … Read more
Trumpet lilies announce themselves with bursts of color. Though given an entire division (Division 6 in the official catalog), these are not ‘purebred’ lilies but a hybrid derived from Asiatics. Nevertheless, they are worthy not only of a division but of all the attention they get. The name comes from their shape, which has the … Read more
Nothing makes me feel more like an artist than a bag of spring bulbs. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, and all the fascinating little ones—scillas, snowdrops, and chionodoxas—are like paints for my brush, or rather my trowel! I’ll plant generous quantities this fall so next April and May my garden will be full of spring. It’s … Read more