Heirloom Vegetables and Tomatoes

In the 70’s, my father would pack all of us in the station wagon, and drive for what seemed an eternity to visit my relatives. I was pretty young, but I can remember two details quite vividly. My brother getting me to ask, “Are we there yet?” and, visiting my Grandparents. My Grandma was an avid cook and gardener. While […]

Growers Guide for Geum Plants

A genus of hardy herbaceous perennials, some of which are useful border plants, the dwarf species are good rock garden plants. Several are natives of the British Isles but those valued for gardens are from Europe, South America, and the Near East. From the Greek geno, to impart an agreeable flavor, referring to the aromatic roots of some species (Rosaceae). […]

Growers Guide for Pot Marigold

A Southern European Plant That Is Popular in Garden and Greenhouse Showy annual plants from southern Europe belonging to the Daisy family, Compositive. They have simple alternate leaves and branching stems 1 1/2-2 1/2 ft. high, bearing large heads of yellow, yellowish or orange-colored flowers which are in full beauty during the summer. Calendula is derived from calendae, the calends, […]

Growing and planting Marigolds: African and French Marigolds

Useful and Easily Grown Flowers for Garden and Greenhouse Tagetes (Tage’tes) 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 […]

SHOE FLIES AND CHINESE LANTERNS – Gardening

The catalogs are a little slimmer this year, but they are still full of the hope and glory of spring and summer. Flowers, vegetables, fruits and herbs burst forth from the pages, each better than last year, allegedly foolproof and free-flowering, requiring little or no maintenance and a great return on investment. It all goes to show that gardeners are […]

Protecting Plants from the Sun and Heat

The gardener must at times give plants protection against too intense light and against excessively high temperatures. Damage from intense light is most likely to occur when naturally shade loving plants are exposed to direct, strong sunshine; when sun loving plants, comparatively soft and tender from being grown in a greenhouse or cold frame, are transferred outdoors; and after plants […]

Potted Shrub Roses for Instant Color

Do you have small space to plant or little time to garden? Then look no further than a shrub rose. A potted Star® Landscape Shrub Rose blooms from spring well into fall frost with little care for year-round color and non-stop blooming Shrub roses look beautiful cascading from a hanging basket or spilling over the sides of a container, either […]

Using annual flowers for quick color

When you want lots of color quickly, flowers to cut by the armful and bloom all summer, you want annuals. For earliest possible bloom, sow seeds indoors, then transplant-or buy started plants in May. But you’ll still get plenty of flowers if you wait till the danger of frost is past and sow the seed of quick-growing varieties where you […]

CELOSIA Cockscomb, Annual Flower Information

Whoever has grown a few of the various Celosias has surely been charmed either by their beauty or their fantasy of form. Celosias are sometimes confused with Amaranthus, which, however, is coarser and of which the colors are not so clear. THE SORTS To GROW. Cockscomb, C. cristata (C. coccinea). This species has huge, laterally flattened heads, which in many […]

Marigold, Annual Flower Information

Marigold (Tages was an Etruscan god, but perhaps the name is of another derivation) Even the name-Mary’s Gold-captivates us, and what could be more appropriate? The flowers of these old, old favorites are in some varieties veritably made of flakes of gold. How easy it is to be wealthy with Mary’s Gold. The Aztec (African) Marigold (T. erecla) has large […]