Your Backyard Garden Information Source
The long stems and tufted flowers of the annual Scabiosa (S. atropurpurea) are charming. The colors also are pleasing in all cases white, light pink, rose, fiery scarlet, pale yellow, azure blue, and deep blackish-purple. The stamens are light in color and in contrast with the petals appear like pins stuck into the flower, hence the name Pincushion flower. The […]
The genus Dianthus is large, but the popular garden flowers are border carnations, growing about 2 1/2 ft. tall, with exquisitely formed blooms and smooth-edged petals, and pinks in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and heights. They need a sunny, well-drained position, but are not suited to areas which have severe winters. Any soil suits them, so long as […]
Herbs, in my opinion should be grown in every garden. Not requiring a lot of space or care, the benefits are immense. Think about various dishes that are made and you will find at least one herb flavouring it; potatoes and chives or lovage, tomatoes and basil, spaghetti sauce and oregano, and many more. Herbs like other plants fall into […]
Kale Also known as borecole, this hardy vegetable is a member of the brassica family. Varieties include the Scotch kales, cottager’s kale, thousand-headed and asparagus kale. All are grown for winter supplies of greens. They are particularly recommended to gardeners in very cold areas where winter cabbage and sprouting broccoli are difficult crops. Sow seeds in the open on a […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 area. Trudging towards those distant sacks, I spotted a fully loaded merchandise cart bearing scores of potted primroses in an […]
The name was first used by Pierandrea Mattioli, a sixteenth-century Italian botanist, and physician, and possibly means ‘shaking in the wind’ (Ranunculaceae). This genus of 30 species, distinguished from Anemone only by minor botanical differences, includes some of the most beautiful of low-growing flowering plants, and one in particular, P. vernalis, which is so lovely that it must have converted […]
How to grow Bergenia (ber-gen-i-a) Named for Karl August von Bergen, 1704-60, German botanist (Saxifragaceae). These hardy perennial herbaceous plants with large evergreen leaves were at one time called megasea, and were at another time included with the saxifrages. The flowers which come in early spring are showy in white, pink or red-purple, borne in large heads on long stems. […]
BOUGAINVILLEA (Bougainvillea). Climbing leaf-losing shrubby plants, from Brazil, which belong to the family Nyctaginaceae. They are cultivated outdoors in the far South and in colder climates in greenhouses. The slender woody stems are furnished with small, ovate to elliptic-lanceolate, green leaves and sharp thorns. The small inconspicuous flowers which are produced in summer, are surrounded by large colored bracts which […]