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 […]

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 […]

Garden Hedges, Screens – Plant Types and Growing

Hedges, screens and shelterbelts Screens and shelterbelts are usually essential in coastal areas; also to farmers and fruit growers. In gardens, private and public, hedges can do much to prevent the intrusion of animals and human beings and to act […]

Spleenwort fern Growing and planting Asplenium

ASPLENIUM—Spleenwort (Asple’nium). Ferns which are great favorites for cultivation out of doors and under glass. The cultivated hardy kinds are natives of North America, the others grow wild in tropical Africa, India and other countries. They belong to the Polypody […]

Growing Calceolaria (Calceloa’ria) – Plant information

CALCEOLARIA (Calceola’ria). Mostly tender perennials of herbaceous or shrubby growth, principally natives of Chile and Peru, and belonging to the Snapdragon family, Scrophulariaceae. Calceolarias vary in height from 6 in. to 3 ft. The flowers are slipper-like and are mostly […]

Phlox – Perennial Plant, How to grow

How to Grow Phlox From the Greek phlego, to burn, or phlox, a flame, referring to the bright colours of the flowers (Polemoniaceae). A genus of nearly 70 species of hardy, half-hardy, annual and perennial herbaceous plants all, with one […]

Rudbeckia blooms its golden glow early

As I travel country roads and stroll around many gardens, including my own, I see members of the Rudbeckia family blooming everywhere. Almost 4 weeks ahead in the season, I wonder what other flowers are going to give me the […]