My favorite Salvia is one which I have never seen listed in any catalog. It is Salvia uliginosa, a tall plant with willowy stems to a height of four feet. Each branch ends in a narrow plume of sky-blue which […]
A good Blue Salvia
Trees in the garden
Trees are the most long-lived growing features in any garden. Once they are well established, it is very difficult to move them; pruning them if they become too big is difficult, needing skilled workmanship, and is never a permanent solution […]
How to grow Alternanthera
Alluding to the fact that alternate anthers are usually infertile (Amaranthaceae). Joy weed. Used in the main for foliage effect, these half-hardy shrubby perennials have brightly colored foliage. The flowers are insignificant and are not usually allowed to develop. Species […]
UNFORGETTABLE – Gardening
In spring any color is welcome, but I sometimes think that we end up with a glut of yellows, especially when the daffodils are out. Fortunately, Mother Nature gave us contrast in the form of a few blue flowers that […]
How to be a Frugal Gardener
Gardeners practiced the concept of the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, long before it became trendy. People who grow things have a special relationship with the land and they naturally take steps to take care of it. Take composting for […]
Hillside Gardening – Plants for a bank or the hill side.
Hillside Gardening Plants for a bank or the hill side. The simplest way to plant a bank is to make a grassy slope of it. This isn’t the best way in which a bank can be treated, since it lacks […]
CRAVING CRANESBILLS
Collectors everywhere know what it is like to have a quest—an ongoing hunt for the one little porcelain box or wheat penny or 1950’s lunchbox that will make it all worthwhile. A good part of the joy of collecting in […]
How to grow Chicory plants with chicory seeds
Chicory Sow seeds of Witloof chicory in May or June. The soil must be fertile. Any manure or garden compost added prior to sowing must be very well rotted. Sow thinly in drills 1cm (1/2 in) deep, spaced 30cm (1 […]
Pulmonaria – Perennial Plant, How to grow
How to Grow Pulmonaria Pulmonaria (pul-mon-air-ee-a) From the Latin pulmo, lung; derivation uncertain; either because the spotted leaves bore a resemblance to diseased lungs, or because one species was regarded as providing a remedy for diseased lungs (Boraginaceae). Lungwort. This […]
Catnip for your garden
I subscribe to a lot of gardening magazines.Each one is a bit different, but there are some things that are common to all of them.At least every other month, a reader writes in to Horticulture or Fine Gardening or Garden […]