Flowers for Winter Wedding

While it’s true that most weddings take place in spring and summer, many couples choose a winter date for the “big event.” According to the Society of American Florists, 13 percent of weddings take place in the winter, with 11 […]

How to grow Aster

From the Greek aster, star, describing the flower shape (Compositae). Michaelmas daisy. Among the most useful herbaceous perennials, most of the asters flower in late summer right into the autumn and are extremely hardy and easy to grow. They increase […]

FRESH ROSES – Gardening

There are some people for whom a rose is a rose. I am not one of them. There are some people who get tired of taking care of roses. I am not one of them either. I think it is […]

Thalictrum – Perennial Plant, How to grow

How to Grow Thalictrum   Thalictrum (thal-ik-trum) From the Greek thaliktron, a name used to describe a plant with divided leaves, possibly of the same family (Ranuncalaceae). Meadow rue. A genus of 150 species of hardy perennials, herbaceous plants, mainly […]

PEACHY KEEN

Standing in the middle of my back garden, I am immediately struck by two things: the number of weeds in every bed, and the constant singing of birds in neighboring trees. Usually I ignore the weeds (at least until I […]

Growing and Care Bottle Brush Tree. Callistemon

CALLISTEMON—Bottle-Brush Tree (Calliste’mon). Tender evergreen flowering shrubs from Australia which belong to the Myrtle family, Myrtaceae. They are well adapted for growing outdoors in California and in similar mild climates and for greenhouse cultivation elsewhere. They have narrow, dark-green, leathery […]

Groundcovers are the true workhorses of a garden

There are not many plants that can be truly called a workhorse in a garden, yet many groundcovers are exactly that. Once established, they require no care, instead providing a large, weed-free mat of their vegetation and flowers. The choices […]

The Primrose Path

The other day I was at my local mega-merchandiser’s 9,000,000-square foot store looking for a prosaic yet essential staple of the indoor garden—potting soil. Fortunately for me, othe really big bags were at the rear of the cavernous indoor nursery […]

Ligularia – Perennial Plant, How to grow

  From the Latin ligula, a strap, referring to the strap-shaped ray florets (Cornpositae). A genus of about 80 species of herbaceous perennials, formerly included in Senecio but now placed in their own genus. These handsome members of the daisy […]