Over several years, we have watched the ebb and flow of the flower box tide in this flower box city. We have some suggestions for what we have found, partly by trial and error, to be the most successful plants and methods. The Exposure The direction a flower box faces, or exposure, has a lot … Read more
The tree or shrub in the right place will give your house an Iift. Likewise, thought given to the selection and grouping of the plants you use on your property can make the difference between a pleasing effect and a jumble. Every housewife knows that clutter and confusion in the house make her day’s work … Read more
When planning your flower border, do you automatically want to plant every type of flower that is grown? Unfortunately, most of us who love to raise flowers neglect thinking of the overall effect in our search for something new. When I plan improvements in the perennial border, I usually relax in the lawn chair, observing … Read more
If you overlook the possibility of using native plants in landscaping your home grounds, you are missing a real pleasure. Not only are there wildings suitable for almost any soil and climatic condition, but there are plants that are excellent for borders, beds, rock gardens, hedges, covering walls and trellises, dried arrangements, backgrounds, and shade. … Read more
A landscape is a picture that makes its own frame. Roofed by the sky, rimmed by trees, and floored with the solid earth. Every part of a garden composes itself into a picture that changes from hour to hour as the sun moves, from day to day as the seasons succeed one another, and from … Read more
“We weren’t going to kill ourselves gardening,” said Lewis Gannett in his book “Cream Hill.” “Just a vegetable garden the first year and a few ferns was our motto. But the flat stones about the water barrel outside the door after the barrel had been removed and the water turned into the house looked even … Read more
If you own a fine piece of woodland, you have three choices before you: to leave it a tangle of virgin growth, to “pretty it up” artificially, or to tame it gently to accent its natural beauty. We chose the last. Before making any plans, it is wise to learn exactly what you have. What … Read more
There is often a strip of ground in a garden that can only be put to good purpose with more labor than we can devote to it. It may once have been a lawn, which means mowing; or a long border, which needs weeding and upkeep; or merely a strip along the boundary fence in … Read more
Money isn’t everything as far as gardening is concerned. In fact, the Guerry G. Slaughters of Charlotte, North Carolina, decided the money would have very little to do with limiting their gardening program. They made this resolution when confronted by their 62’ x 185’ foot city lot—a rugged, sloping wilderness of underbrush and poison ivy … Read more
Why do we see so few tastefully planted houses when so much desirable plant material is available? All too often, foundation plantings leave something to be desired or detract from the dwelling they were meant to enhance. Yet the basic principles of planting design are simple if only we would consider them. Let us look … Read more