Plant Profile: Nellie Stevens Holly (Ilex x ‘Nellie R. Stevens’)
Karen 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…
Plant Profile: Adam’s Needle (Yucca filimentosa) ‘Color Guard’)
When I look out across 100 feet of lawn to my perennial garden in winter the plant that first catches my eye is ‘Color Guard’. It’s canary yellow color is…
Gorgeous Greens for Holiday Arrangements
I always look forward to filling my house with fresh greens for the holidays. I love both their look and aroma and use them in arrangements alone or combined with…