Among the choice company of hardy shrubs with winter bloom, none is more pleasing than Viburnum fragrans. During mild weather, the flower buds expand into 2″ inch clusters of delightfully fragrant pink flowers. This may be as early as January, but more often, it is in March and April. The blooms are amazingly hardy and … Read more
Lythrum (‘Morden Rose’ and ‘Morden Gleam’) is one of the best hardy perennials for continuous summer bloom. It starts blooming in June from terminal branches and keeps sending out long spikes of lovely rose-colored flowers from new growth all summer. These thrums, or rosy loosestrifes, grow to 3’ to 4’ feet, with ‘Morden Gleam’ the … Read more
If you are looking for the perfect ornamental indoor plant for the winter and holidays, Solanum pseudocapsicum will suit you well. Solanum pseudocapsicum, previously known as Solanum capicastrum, is a bushy, perennial evergreen shrub belonging to the genus Solanum and a member of the Solanaceae or the Nightshade family. Solanaceae is a family of flowering … Read more
Some of the best hardy plants that contribute interest and beauty to winter gardens are rarely seen. But fortunately, some are becoming better known. One of the most pleasing is winter heath, Erica carnea. This small shrub is outstanding not only for the abundance and duration of its bloom, which lasts fully half the winter … Read more
In the days of the old South, there was an herb called provincially, Citronalis, one of the most treasured of all of the grandmother’s sweet-smelling herbs. In recent years, the name has been changed to lemon verbena, and it is so generally known today. Lemon Verbena’s Characteristics The bloom of this herb is inconspicuous, but … Read more
Sometimes favorite garden subjects of the olden days almost disappear from modern gardens, and many of the newer plants of true value are often too seldom seen. Collinsia bicolor is one of the former. Old Time Plant Collinsia In the spring garden, Collinsia may attain a height of 20” inches in ordinary soil, blooming freely … Read more
Of the many flowers in my garden, the most beautiful, in my opinion, is the hollyhock. Before you throw up your hands in horror and exclaim, “That old weed?” let me hasten to explain that I am speaking of the new double hollyhock. Actually, they aren’t so new. They just seem that way because they … Read more
The first week of July brings to my rock garden a color combination that is hard to beat. Even the riot of spring bulbs, primroses, violas, daphne, pulmonaria, and other early flowers does not surpass the display of four easily grown July-blooming perennials. Erigeron Speciosus And Geranium Sanguineum One of these four perennials is the … Read more
The ancient man left no record of when he first yearned for those plants, vegetables, and flowers that did not grow around him. However, during the first century of the Christian era, some conservatory or hothouse was in use. Some authors mentioned mere frames, while others wrote of substantial structures, or “specular,” erected for winter … Read more
Most of us agree that flowers excite the keenest pleasure because of their beauty. Yet, to the hybridizer, these most ornamental features of most plants have their outward beauty, but many snores. To the hybridizer, flowers are the means toward plant improvement and quality control standards in generation after generation of any established variety of … Read more