Your Backyard Garden Information Source
Cherries Two main groups of cherries are cultivated for the merit of their fruit, the `sweet’, dessert (Prunus avium) and the `sour’, culinary (Prunus cerasus); a third group, the ‘Duke’ cherries, form an intermediate class. The sweets are subdivided into the ‘black’ and ‘white’ varieties. All fruiting cherries are hardy in the British Isles, though the blossom may be damaged […]
Edging your garden provides a clean crisp look. Your garden borders will stand out when there’s a clean edge between the planting area and your landscape paths, driveway, sidewalk and your lawn. Common edging, such as stone, wood, or brick, provide an optimal appearance keeping the plants in the garden bed while keeping the lawn out, but it isn’t always […]
The Sweet Peas of our gardens delight us while they provoke us. We sincerely wish that they might bloom for a longer time, yet they are an unqualified joy when they are in flower. Many thoughts arise in the minds of true Sweet Pea lovers. For Instance, Helen Milman, writes: “I think the Sweet Pea is a frivolous flower and […]
The bold and hearty character of the Purple Cone Flower makes it a striking plant. The flowers are rosy purple with dark, stiff, quilllike centers touched with golden crimson. Echinacea purpurea is the common sort and is frequently listed in catalogs under Rudbeckia purpurea. Sometimes when plants are raised from seed objectionable muddy colors are obtained which are not worthy […]
Hardy Ferns – Shield Fern, Hay-scented or Gossamer Fern, Lady and Male Ferns, Royal Fern, Maidenhair Fern, Cinnamon Fern, Walking Fern, Climbing Fern Almost everybody has a spot in the garden around the home which is so shady that very few plants will grow there and consequently these spots are bare eyesores. Have you ever taken a walk through dense, […]
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 […]
Scabiosa – Pincushion Flower To those persons who are familiar with the annual sorts of Scabiosa, we need only say that the perennials resemble the annuals, except that the perennials have shorter florets at the center, while in the annual sorts the flowers are made up of florets of more uniform length. Scabiosa caucasica is the commonest perennial with flowers […]
How to grow Gentiana Gentiana (jen-te-a-na) Named after Gentius, King of Illyria who first used the plant medicinally (Gentianaceae). Gentian. A large genus of hardy perennials. Most of those in cultivation are dwarf plants suitable for the rock garden, but a few are more at home in the border. Some of them are lime-haters. Species cultivated G. acaulis (now considered […]
When I was growing up, my father’s friend, Richard Pastecki, grew lots of eggplant. He did not eat them grilled or in salads, and it would never have occurred to him to use them in something as unfamiliar as ratatouille. Richard Pastecki raised eggplant for only one reason—Eggplant Parmesan. In the Pastecki household Eggplant Parmesan was taken very seriously. Richard’s […]
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 […]