A Taste of Asia Gardening

Lately, I have noticed that the mail-order garden supply catalogs are full of Asian-themed garden accessories such as pots, traditional bamboo fences, and stone lanterns. This seems to go along with the trend toward Asian-inspired minimalism in home décor. In California and the Pacific Northwest, traditional Asian and Asian-inspired gardens have been popular for years. Can a national vogue for Chinese and […]

Drought Tolerant Plants

Drought-tolerant plants have become increasingly popular as eco-conscious individuals and gardeners seek sustainable landscaping solutions. These resilient plants are designed to thrive in arid conditions, requiring minimal water input while still adding vibrancy and beauty to your garden or landscape. With climate change and water scarcity concerns on the rise, the demand for drought-tolerant options has surged. Incorporating these plants […]

Decorative bark and good foliage color

Broad-leaved ACER CAPILLIPES Young bark striated with white; young growths coral red, leaves turning crimson in autumn. A. davidii, young bark shiny green, striated with white; leaves usually turn yellow and purple in autumn. Long chains of keys striking. A. griseum, paper bark maple, the outer bark peeling in papery flakes to show the copper-colored inner bark; opening leaves bronze […]

ASPIDISTRA ELATIOR – Parlor Palm, Cast Iron Plant

A particularly tough house and greenhouse plant with long, broad, evergreen leaves. It is a suitable plant for planting outdoors in shady places where winters are mild. Even at New York City it has been known to live outdoors for several years, but the winters there are too severe for it to thrive. It is a native of China and […]

Gardening Guidance for Delphiniums

Hardy perennial and annual plants of varying heights which bloom in June and July chiefly; the original species or wild types from which the modern beautiful varieties are descended are natives of California, Siberia, Syria, India and other countries. Delphinium Ajacis, originally from eastern Europe is one of the plants from which the annual Larkspurs have been raised. Delphinium belongs […]

Hardy Ferns, Perennials Guide to Planting Flowers

Hardy Ferns – Shield Fern, Hay-scented or Gossamer Fern, Lady and Male Ferns, Royal Fern, Maidenhair Fern, Cinnamon Fern, Walking Fern, Climbing Fern Almost everybody has a spot in the garden around the home which is so shady that very few plants will grow there and consequently these spots are bare eyesores. Have you ever taken a walk through dense, […]

Growing Delphiniums – Larkspur

There’s fully as much difference between the older and the modern delphiniums with their long, gorgeous spires, as there is between old-time roses, gladiolus, peonies, and dahlias, and the newer creations. If you’re a beginner, and close to a supply of the modern hybrids, buy not old plants (one year or over), but strong, young plants. If plants aren’t available […]

PROTECTING PLANTS FROM WINTER DAMAGE

Besides ice dams on the roof and piles of snow in the driveway, horticultural injury is a fact of life during northern winters. Surprisingly, there are many ways that otherwise long-lived plants may meet their demise in between growing seasons. Direct injury from exposure to cold temperature is the most obvious, and as a result, most gardeners and homeowners pay […]

Growing Delphiniums

The modern delphinium is one of the most spectacular and popular garden flowers. There are wide ranges of colors, several flower forms, and varieties of different heights. Hobby growers strive to produce the largest individual flowering spikes possible. PLANT RIGHT: Select a sunny location and a soil as deep which is rich as possible. In early Spring,  set plants into well-prepared […]

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 family, Polypodiaceae. Asplenium is derived from a, not, and splen, spleen, and refers to the medicinal properties these Ferns were […]