Plant Profile: Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera bridgesii)
Karen The unusual shape and intense colors of Christmas cactus flowers brighten even the cloudiest gray days of December. Often blooming for as long as 6 weeks, mature plants are covered…
Best Buy Flowers for December Arrangements
A few flowers added to an arrangement of greens can add a special touch for the holidays. Modern growing techniques and transportation have made a huge variety of flowers available…
Plant Profile: Nellie Stevens Holly (Ilex x ‘Nellie R. Stevens’)
There are many beautiful hollies that do well in moderate climates but Nellie Stevens is one of the best. It combines a highly desirable conical shape with glossy dark green…
A Visit to the Boboli Gardens (Giardini Bobolo) Florence, Italy
If you visit the Boboli gardens with the idea of seeing vast beds of flowers you are going to be disappointed; there are very few. If, on the other hand,…
Plant Profile: Lavender Twist Redbud (Cercis canadensis ‘Covey’)
Lavender Twist is a weeping form of the native redbud. It was first found in 1991 in the New York garden of Connie Covey and was propagated from that tree.…
Florist’s Cyclamen (Cyclamen x persicum cv.)
The holiday season brings several special plants to the market and one of the prettiest is the florists cyclamen, C. persicum with its unusual flowers and attractive foliage. The individual…
How to Make a Boxwood Tree for Christmas
A small, tabletop tree made of boxwood tips is a beautiful holiday decoration that can easily be made at home. When I worked in a florist we would sell them…
Plant Profile: English Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’)
English boxwood is an evergreen shrub native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia where they grow in open woodlands and rocky hillsides. It and is member…
A Visit to Parco dei Mostri, Bomarzo, Italy
Whether you like gardens or monsters you will be captivated by parco dei mostri where huge stone creatures loom ominously as though they are ready to make you into mincemeat.…
Recipe: Rose Hip Jam
The rose garden is a powerhouse of beautiful flowers from spring to autumn with dazzling color to treat the eyes and heavenly fragrance to tantalize the nose. All through the…