Focus on Flowers

Growing Roses 05.05.2022 1:59 ↓

While roses take care, trial and error over time will help a gardener learn which varieties thrive best in their climate.

Magnolia x soulangiana   29.04.2022 1:59 ↓

There is a large number of more modern hybrid cultivars now available, and some produce flowers in other shades such as white, rose, magenta, burgundy, and purple.

No Dividing Dicentra 28.04.2022 1:59 ↓

If you want to minimize work in the garden, you can try to plant perennials that do not like to be disturbed and so never need to be divided.

Sequencing Iris Blooms 21.04.2022 1:59 ↓

I read of a grower in lower New York who has iris in bloom continuously from February until the end of July.

Hepatica acutiloba 14.04.2022 1:59 ↓

A walk in the woods in early April, when the air is cool and crisp, allows us the delight of discovering sweet little flowers such as the sharp-lobed Hepatica.

Seductive Descriptions 07.04.2022 1:59 ↓

“I have grown wise, after many years of gardening, and no longer order recklessly from wildly alluring descriptions, which make every annual sound easy to grow and as brilliant as a film star.” -Vita Sackville-West

Jeffersonia Diphylla 31.03.2022 1:59 ↓

Twinleaf's botanical name celebrates a U.S. president who loved gardens, Thomas Jefferson.

Winning in Winter 24.03.2022 1:59 ↓

As winter winds down, witch hazel is the shrub to watch.

Long-Lived Lilacs 17.03.2022 1:59 ↓

Many of our best lilacs resulted from the work of Isabella Preston, who spent her career hybridizing plants.

Sheila Macqueen 10.03.2022 1:59 ↓

I have been reading a book on flower arranging by Sheila Macqueen published in 1972 in England.

Women's Words 03.03.2022 1:59 ↓

I have been reading a book about women gardeners in times past and find that they have wonderful wisdom to share.

Versatile Crocuses 24.02.2022 1:59 ↓

Crocus sativus' stamens are the source of saffron. Henry I of England was so fond of saffron as a spice in food that he forebade ladies in his court from using it as a hair lightener.

Carefree Annuals 17.02.2022 1:59 ↓

Many people want a low-maintenance garden, yet no garden is truly low maintenance, but one possibility is an informal garden of easy-care flowering annuals.

Celia Thaxter's Words 10.02.2022 1:59 ↓

Celia Thaxter gardened on an island off the New England coast.

Groundhogs, Whistle Pigs, Woodchucks, Oh My! 03.02.2022 1:59 ↓

Groundhogs, whistle pigs, woodchucks--whatever you call them, they hibernate all winter and wake up in the spring feeling ravenous, ready to eat your flowers.

Beatrix & Willie 27.01.2022 1:59 ↓

When Beatrix died, she left over 4000 acres to The National Trust to be preserved forever in its natural state. Many visitors come from all over the world to England’s Lake District, looking for Peter Rabbit and his creator.

Potter's Pinks 20.01.2022 1:59 ↓

“She is pleased with her Pinks."

Houseplants 13.01.2022 1:59 ↓

Plants add vitality to our indoor living spaces.

Foundation Plantings 06.01.2022 1:59 ↓

Select the largest herbaceous specimens that you can afford to plant. Otherwise, you may have a large house with tiny little blobs of green lined up in front of the structure for a long time.

Hardy Hellebores 30.12.2021 1:59 ↓

Cold-season bloomers are rare in the flower world.

Squirrels 23.12.2021 1:59 ↓

Squirrels are such fun to watch!

An Ancient Poem 16.12.2021 1:59 ↓

James I of Scotland wrote a poem in 1413 describing his view of a densely screened pleasure garden set in a corner of the castle wall.

Wardian Boxes 09.12.2021 1:59 ↓

Dr. Nathanial Ward, a naturalist and physician living in London, discovered a way to transport and protect plants from the sea air and adverse temperatures during long sea voyages.

More on Deer 02.12.2021 1:59 ↓

In the fall deer start on the woody plants and most often go after evergreens in the winter.

Flower Arrangers Speak 25.11.2021 1:59 ↓

Quotes from Violet Stevenson and Gertrude Jekyll.