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 from north temperate regions but also represented in tropical South America, tropical Africa and South Africa. Those cultivated have elegant, […]
The fact is, I am short. Not extremely short, but short enough so that I require the assistance of a step stool or an obliging tall person to reach high shelves. If I were a garden plant, I would be a good mid-border specimen—not tall enough to dominate the back and not short enough to use as an edger. I […]
If you’re wondering what gardening tasks to perform in October, first you need to understand your gardening zone. Now you understand your gardening zone, below defines the tasks to perform for your garden. Zone 1 Finish planting container-grown trees and shrubs Plant needle-bearing evergreens early in the month If the month is dry, repeat the September soaking Check ties on […]
The pea is a vegetable which helps the soil, has an interesting history, is easy to grow, and is a more versatile food than you might know. It is loaded with helpful vitamins, protective phytonutrients that provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, protein and fiber. They’re low in fats but, what they have, are healthy omega-3 fats. Some research (whfoods.org) indicates […]
All gardens look wonderful with various perennials and low growing shrubs, but consideration must also be given for plants that provide height. When plants are grown at all the same height it looks like something is missing, yet when a vine, flowering or not, is placed into the garden, that feeling disappears. Vines can be grown along a fence placed […]
Anemones To say that the Japanese Anemone is one of the best fall flowers would be an understatement-it is the best. Here is a plant and flower with real charm, refinement, and sophistication. The plant grows from 1 to 5 feet- tall, is erect and stately. Foliage is glossy and brilliant. Flowers are more or less saucer-shaped and vary from […]
From the Latin lupus, a wolf (destroyer), because it was thought that the plants depleted the fertility of the soil by sheer numbers (Leguminosae). Lupine. A genus of over 300 species of annuals, perennials, and subshrubs, mainly from North America, though there are a few Mediterranean species which, since Roman times, have been used for green manuring. This is surprising […]
If you need an attractive low growing plant to use as a Border to conceal the scrappily base of rosebushes or to mask the water faucet on the side of your house, try oxalis. Or if you’ve a narrow park-way too difficult to mow easily or an area underneath an air vent in a house wall, oxalis will meet this […]
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 leaves, which are slightly aromatic when crushed. The flowers are densely packed in terminal cylindrical spikes resembling a bottle brush […]
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 […]