Your Backyard Garden Information Source
From the Greek physa, a bladder, an allusion to the inflated calyx (Solanaceae). A genus of 100 or more species of which the two most well-known are P. alkekengi, the Bladder Cherry or Chinese Lantern Plant, with its brilliant, flame-coloured, air-filled calyces, and P. peruviana, the Cape Gooseberry, which is a greenhouse species. They are annual and perennial herbaceous plants, […]
Apricots Of Mediterranean origin and flowering in late February and March, outdoor apricots demand a frost-free sunny site. Bush trees can be grown only in the southwest and southeast North America and England; elsewhere, as fan-trained trees on walls facing east, south, or southwest, or in greenhouses. Apricots prefer a moisture retentive, friable and well-drained soil: they object to stiff […]
Where as figs in the open will only ripen one crop of fruit a year, those in a heated greenhouse can ripen two. With sufficient heat it is even possible to secure three crops a year, but this is a heavy drain on the strength of the tree and expensive in fuel consumption as it is necessary to start growth […]
Cherries Two main groups of cherries are cultivated for the merit of their fruit, the `sweet’, dessert (Prunus avium) and the `sour’, culinary (Prunus cerasus); a third group, the ‘Duke’ cherries, form an intermediate class. The sweets are subdivided into the ‘black’ and ‘white’ varieties. All fruiting cherries are hardy in the British Isles, though the blossom may be damaged […]
Dianna Vreeland, the celebrated editor of Vogue magazine, was fabled for the pronouncements that she made about all kinds of things. One of the most famous was, “Pink is the navy blue of India.” Of course, this statement came at a time when navy blue was one of the perennial “neutral” colors in women’s fashion in the United States. Mrs. Vreeland […]
Cherries Two main groups of cherries are cultivated for the merit of their fruit, the `sweet’, dessert (Prunus avium) and the `sour’, culinary (Prunus cerasus); a third group, the ‘Duke’ cherries, form an intermediate class. The sweets are subdivided into the ‘black’ and ‘white’ varieties. All fruiting cherries are hardy in the British Isles, though the blossom may be damaged […]
Even on the smaller home lots, there is usually a place for a few fruit trees. In many cases a small home orchard is possible. In smaller places, fruit trees can be worked in with the landscape planting. As a whole, fruit trees grow rapidly and if well cared for they are tidy and a desirable feature of the landscape […]
Blackberries Blackberries are vigorous and exceptionally spiny, hardy perennial cane fruits belonging to the genus Rubus .The species and hybrids listed below are grown for dessert, bottling, tarts, jam and wine. Blackberries prefer deep, moist and rich loam but are adaptable to light sands and stiff clays, given free drainage and freedom from perennial weeds. Incorporate bulky organics such as […]
Everyone knows how delicious is the taste of carefully home-canned produce from the family Vegetable Garden, but as a rule she cannot forget even for a moment the labor which Canning costs the women of the household. I myself have a small Vegetable Garden and do my Canning without assistance, three or four quarts at a time. Those who enjoy […]
BRUSSELS SPROUTS This fall and winter vegetable is included in the Mustard family, Cruciferae, and is referred to botanically as Brassica oleracea gemmifera. The plant originated as far back as the 14th century near Brussels, Belgium, from which town it gets its name. The sprouts are miniature “cabbages” or “buttons,” each, when usable, about 1 1/2-2 in. in diameter, and […]