Whether you specialize in any particular plant or not, the general design and layout of your garden must be pleasing and practical. There are some hard and fast rules to bear in mind, but in the main gardening is a […]
Planning the garden
Malva – Perennial Plant, How to grow
From the Greek malakos, soft or soothing, probably in reference to an emollient yielded by the seeds (Malvaceae). A genus of hardy herbaceous perennial and annual plants. M. moschata, the musk mallow, is one of the most decorative of wild […]
Garden Problems Saving seeds, Compost, Tree stumps
Garden Problems Saving seeds, Compost, Tree stumps Saving Seeds Q. If I do not use all my vegetable and flower seeds one season can I sow them the following season? A. In principle the answer is yes, but there will […]
A good Blue Salvia
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 […]
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 […]