Lilies For Tomorrow
The popular expression, to gild the lily, means to attempt to improve something that is already perfect. Hybridizers, however, never believing that the lily could not be improved, have strived
Over the last 5+ decades of growing plants indoors and out, I have been blessed to meet some wonderful landscape designers, growers, houseplant enthusiasts, hybridizers, collectors, plant specialists, and overall lovers of plants.
My knowledge has grown from sharing my plant adventures in collecting plants with others. But I’ve gained so much more by learning from the experience of others. I’ve been fascinated with the trials and experiences from that grand golden age of gardening – the 1940s-1960s.
This was long before we could send an email, snap a picture on our phone or the internet.
Over the past 20+ years, I have read and collected thousands of articles from the Golden Age.
Some of the plants, annuals, perennials, shrubs, and flower varieties you will not find at your local garden center. Other plants have been hybridized and improved upon with familiar names.
The writers in the articles shared their experiences, tips, tricks, success, discoveries, and warnings. Read what they did and throw out the dates. There are plenty of plant care nuggets to learn.
Sharing their learned lessons is a pleasure, and there is much to learn from these plant pioneers.
NOTE: The articles appear with minimal edits. Some plants are no longer available, and others have been changed or reclassified.
The popular expression, to gild the lily, means to attempt to improve something that is already perfect. Hybridizers, however, never believing that the lily could not be improved, have strived
The year was 1953, the month of September. This month in the city of Columbus, Ohio. The American Rose Society is setting up its new headquarters. Its modern-style new home
Whenever anybody wants to see an ideal private rose garden in or around Columbus, Ohio, he’s taken to look at the one built by Mr. and Mrs. Ezra C. Anstaett
Every year the 23rd of May marks the anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, who had a greater impact on botany than almost any other man. Born in southern
Senior citizens who reside in Cleveland, Ohio’s Golden Age Center, are helping to develop a great arboretum in the nearby community of Mentor. “Never too old to learn” is the
March 7, 1949, marked the 100th anniversary of Luther Burbank’s birth. For half a century or more, the public schools of the nation taught the children in the lower grades
Roy Fields was a specialist in orchid seedlings. A native Floridian, he makes his home in the village of Miami Shores, where he grows orchids on a plot that is
So many times during my recent stay in the United States, gardeners asked me if I knew Maye Bruce and what she is like. I was happy to answer then
If ERNEST H. WILSON, the Arnold Arboretum’s famous plant hunter, were alive today he would be about 140 years old. In the 80+ years which have elapsed since the date
Many years ago Atlanta, Georgia, was the great center of African violet interest on October 9 and 10, when enthusiasts from 20 states met for the first time at the