Shakespeare’s Garden: Box (Buxus sempervirens)
Karen Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), as it is called in America, is a slow growing evergreen shrub or small tree (15-30 feet tall) native to North Africa, western Asia, and Europe where…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Almond
The almond belongs to the genus Prunus made up of 430 species of trees and shrubs including plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines and apricots. It is most closely related to peaches.…
Red Hybrid Tea Roses for Cutting
Roses that are good for cutting should have good form and color and be carried on fairly long stems that are neither too stiff nor too flexible. Fragrance, size of…
Shakespeare’s Garden: Poison Hemlock
The poison hemlock, Conium maculatum, is an herbaceous biennial in the carrot family, Apiaceae that includes parsley and Queen Anne’s lace. It is not related to the evergreen, coniferous hemlock…
Butterflies in the Garden and How to Attract Them: Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
With a wing span of up to 6.3 inches the giant swallowtail is one of the largest butterflies in North America. It is found from southern Canada east of the…
Water Gardens: Oxygenators
Call them oxygenators or submerged, these plants are essential for the good health of a pond especially if you have fish. Typically, they are rooted in pea gravel or the…
Rose Garden Themes: Beverages- Liqueurs
There are many liqueurs but there only a few roses named for them. There are even fewer roses that are readily available but I could not resist including two that…
Five Summer Blooming Perennials with White Flowers for the Rock Garden
There are many shades of white and there are flowers in almost all of them. Think about cream, antique white, pearl, chalk, and snow white. Each varies from the others…
Red Flowered Perennials for the Rock Garden
There are many shades of red from crimson to scarlet and they all can be used effectively in the garden. Combine dark burgundy with pink or light yellow for a…
Blue Roses
If you have seen a blue rose it was probably dyed or a shade of purple because there are no true blue roses. Rose chromosomes do not have a gene…