Book Review: Perennial Combinations
Karen Every gardener has favorite perennials and has no trouble picking them out at the nursery. The hard part is picking out the ones that will both grow and look good…
Flowers for Arrangements: Bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis)
The apple green color and name, “ Bells of Ireland”, certainly suggest that this plant comes for Ireland but it doesn’t. It is an annual native of Turkey, Syria, and…
Plant Profile: Godetia/Farewell to Spring (Clarkia amoena)
A native of Chile and western North America from San Francisco to British Columbia, this annual was named for Captain Clark of the Lewis and Clark expedition fame. It thrives…
Spring Blooming Plants for A Cottage Garden Wall
The traditional cottage garden was enclosed, sometimes by a hedge, but often by a wall. As the wall aged it crumbled and left little niches where plants could get a…
Plant Profile: Coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara)
Coltsfoot is not the most popular medicinal herb but it may be the oddest; it produces its flowers long before it produces leaves but doesn’t produce any stem leaves. In…
Book Review: The Flower Gardener’s Bible
The phrase that first pops into my head when thinking about this book is “user friendly’. The authors, Lewis and Nancy Hill, have a casual, friendly style of writing that…
Five Best Spring Bulbs for Cut Flowers
As beautiful as spring bulbs are in the garden, they can be beautiful cut flowers. I plant some that I never cut and others for the sole purpose of cutting…
Plant Profile: Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis)
A native of woodlands, damp meadows, and open and forested highlands in Canada and northeastern United States, Goldenseal was used by the American Indians to treat many problems from loss…
Late Spring to Early summer Perennials for the Cottage Garden
As spring moves into summer more and more perennials begin to bloom and can take over the job of providing color in the garden. As the bulbs begin to fade…
Plant Profile: Anise (Pimpinella anisum)
A native of Egypt and the Mediterranean anise has been known since ancient times. In the sixth century BC it was recommended for controlling epileptic seizures but by Roman times…