Your Backyard Garden Information Source
Tropical plants which are grown for the sake of their large, ornamental leaves; they are natives of South America and belong to the Arum family, Araceae. The leaves, which develop annually from tubers, are heart-shaped and richly colored and vary from 6 in. to 2 ft. in length; the flowers are interesting but of minor importance. The origin of the […]
Few perennials can offer what the peony does–beautiful, prolific flowers in early summer and good foliage afterwards. Once established, peonies will flower for many years with minimum care. What’s more, they’re extremely hardy and can easily withstand cold northern winters. The basic types of peonies are herbaceous (Paeonia officinalis), which grow to heights of two to four feet; fern-leaved (Paeonia […]
The students have returned to school, your mailbox is crammed with a new crop of seed catalogs, the leaves are falling, and the days are getting shorter. Drive by your local garden center or roadside stand and the displays are filled with ornamental kales and cabbages. Autumn has arrived. Long after the first snowfall and frost have erased most traces […]
The Heleniums are tall growing autumnal plants which are closely related to the Sunflower. The blooming period is from June to the end of September and during this time the plants are covered with flowers of mahogany-crimson, coppery-bronze, lemon-yellow, and light and deep rich yellows. The flowers are flat. and are borne in large heads or clusters. They grow from […]
The grace of the Dicentras charms us whether in the woods or the garden. The Bleeding Heart, Dicentra (Dielytra) spectabilis is one of our most showy old-fashioned flowers which everyone loves. It grows from 2 feet to 4 feet tall and spreads out almost the same distance. The leaves, which are a light, transparent green, are very neat, exceedingly graceful […]
Columnar or Fastigiate trees To the botanist, the word fastigiate means ‘with parallel, erect, clustered branches’. It has become more widely used in a more generalized sense for trees with narrow crowns. All those mentioned are derived from natural sports and do not come true from seed (if that is produced). They are propagated as cultivars. They generally need careful […]