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SPRING PRUNING of established roses is always a gamble. If you prune too early, late spring frosts can kill all the canes. If you prune too late, some of the plants’ strength will be lost in the growth of the top shoots (spinach). You and you alone must be the judge of when to prune your roses. All roses must […]
Cottage Gardens The cottage garden tradition is one that is peculiarly English in character. The old-world charm of the cottager’s plot owed little or nothing to any of the major developments in garden design or landscape architecture. The English cottage garden just ‘happened’ and its chief attraction lies in the effect of ordered chaos that it produces. Like the wild […]
Although the outdoor landscape may be bleak right now, the greenhouse industry has found a way to bring spring into our homes. And that’s by fooling tulips and other spring flowers into blooming early indoors. The cut tulips you find at your florist shop, local greenhouse, and supermarket this time of year are “forced” tulips that were grown in greenhouses […]
Why is it important to learn how garden flowers are grouped or classified? For one, it will make it easier for you to order plants and flowers. You also will better understand terms you see in books and catalogs. And you’ll learn about some cultural or growth factors to consider when selecting flowers for your garden. To begin with, flowers […]
The growing and collecting of cacti has been a popular hobby in this country for many years. Their varied shapes and colors together with the colored spines make them fascinating and their spectacular flowers are an added interest for the grower. Some of the larger types may not flower in this country owing to the lack of intense sunshine, but […]
Mostly evergreen shrubs, chiefly from tropical America, belonging to the Pea family, Leguminosae. They grow from 6-50 ft. in height, have pinnate, dark green, glossy leaves, and bear golden-yellow flowers in terminal clusters in summer. Cassia is from the original Greek name Kasia. Most Cassias are hardy outdoors in the far South only. There they grow freely in light, well-drained […]
Oxypetalum caeruleum is a South American member of the Milkweed Family which deserves to be better known. A reference to it in an English gardening magazine aroused my interest, and in the summer I sowed a packet of seeds in a flat. They germinated well, and in the autumn the little plants were potted up, and placed in the greenhouse […]
Named after a sixteenth-century Spanish physician and botanist, Nicholas Monardes (Labiatae). A small genus of annual and perennial herbs from North America, with fragrant leaves and flowers, related to Salvia. The leaves are nettle-like, and the flowers have a spiky appearance and are clustered together in whorls: the color ranges from white through pink, mauve, and purple to red. Species […]
Easily Grown Flowers for Gardens and Greenhouses Marigolds (Tagetes ) are annuals of great decorative value during the summer and autumn months. They are natives of Mexico and South America and belong to the Daisy family, Compositae. The name is said to have been derived from a mythological deity, Tages. These Marigolds are quite distinct from the Pot Marigold or […]
STRELITZIA — Bird of Paradise Flower A group of tender perennial plants, only one of which is commonly grown. This is Strelitzia Reginae, which has large ornamental leaves on long strong petioles (leafstalks), and bears brilliant orange and purple flowers, several together within a large bract, on stems 3 ft. or more high in spring. It is a native of […]