Trends in Bulb Gardening

As with fashion, floriculture also has its trends. Dutch botanist Jacqueline van der Kloet signals two color trends. “First we see a tone-on-tone preference; combinations of the same color tone such as bright yellow combined with dark yellow.” One of Jacqueline’s favorite yellow combinations is: yellow Dahlias, Begonias, Buttercups, Chlidanthus and Callas. The second color trend goes against the tone-on-tone trend, and […]

Valentine Roses

Valentine’s Day has just passed, and if you were lucky, someone you love gave you roses to celebrate the occasion. All the romance and fragrance in the air bring to mind one of history’s great love stories-that of Napoleon and Josephine. Naturally the whole tale is full of roses. It is fitting that Josephine began life with a rose in […]

Winter protection for Trees and Shrubs

In addition to materials laid directly upon the ground or the plants, there are types of winter covering that involve building a shelter of burlap or similar material about the plants and wrapping the aboveground parts in hay, straw, paper and other protective materials. Evergreens, even kinds considered fairly hardy, are much more susceptible to winter injury than are leaf […]

FRESH ROSES – Gardening

There are some people for whom a rose is a rose. I am not one of them. There are some people who get tired of taking care of roses. I am not one of them either. I think it is safe to say that if I could gaze at ‘Buff Beauty’ in full bloom each morning, I would be quite […]

Gold Of Ophir

Gold Of Ophir For centuries and perhaps even millennia people have been searching for the source of the Gold of Ophir. My own search started last week, and I am pleased to say that my shipment of the fabled cargo should arrive sometime in May. It all began when I opened up a popular magazine and read an essay written […]

Planning the garden

Whether you specialize in any particular plant or not, the general design and layout of your garden must be pleasing and practical. There are some hard and fast rules to bear in mind, but in the main gardening is a subject upon which it is very hard to dogmatize, and the thing to remember is that the success or otherwise […]