Plant Profile: California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)
Karen California poppy is one of the toughest, easiest to grow plants. It is native to the west coast from southern Washington to Baja California and east to Nevada, Arizona, and…
Five Small Deciduous Trees for the Mixed Border
If you have a fairly large garden you may be able to include some small trees. These trees can give a feeling of permanence to the garden and give drama…
Plant Profile: Rain Lily (Zephyranthes atamasca)
The bright yellow stamens set off the snowy-white tepals of the flowers in early spring. The flowers seem to appear after a rain giving rise to the common name. The…
Book Review: Perennial Combinations
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…