Early in my indoor plant growing, house plants then making up my collection seemed to be thriving, but whenever they were watered, tiny worm like objects would jump about, leaping out of the soil in great numbers before they settled back as the moisture entered the potting medium. I watched anxiously, using various well-recommended insecticides. […]
Archives for May 2009
Cannas Lilies Not Old Fashioned at All
How can anything so breathtakingly beautiful be called old fashioned? Almost without exception modern garden books refer to the canna as old fashioned. It is true that the canna has been known for generations, but certainly it is no older in fashion than the rose or the lily. What is outdated about the canna is […]
Linaria Very Effective in Mass Displays
One favorite flower is a tiny flower known by many names, linaria, fairy bouquet, toadflax and probably others with which I am unfamiliar. It is truly a fairy flower of many jewel like colors. Plants are made up of many stems and branches all of which are covered with hundreds of blossoms of every color […]
Astilbe Davidi Blubs – Exotic Looking Strawberry Soda Flowers
Tall Astilbe davidi makes a lovely background plant. It is an herbaceous perennial with exotic-looking clusters of feathery froth that look as delicious as a strawberry ice-cream soda. Although it resembles some of the Spireas, closer examination will disclose it to be of the Saxifrage clan. If you’re not enough of a botanist to be […]
Greenhouse Checklist for MAY
Epiphyllums (commonly called orchid cactus, and pronounced epy-FILL-ums) bud and bloom this month. Syringe the leaves several times a day with a mist of tepid water. This will help the buds to develop properly. The species Epiphyllum oxypetalum, one of the plants known as night blooming cereus, usually begins to show buds during this month. […]
Begonia Hybrids Are Garden Plants
It seems that most flower growers, whether they are house plant enthusiasts or not, consider the many varieties of begonias to be pot plants. Even those who have grown them in water, or in window boxes, may not have considered their many possibilities as garden plants. However, I had my greatest success with these everblooming, […]
English Holly Hedge and More
No broad-leaved evergreen is more desirable the year around than English holly. It is striking in winter and summer; lovely in spring when myriads of small creamy-white, mildly fragrant blossoms appear followed by sap-green or olive-red new growth; and incomparable in autumn when sparkling red berries against glossy rich green leaves make the landscape joyfully […]
Magnolias for Garden Aristocrats
Magnolias stand out in the front rank of garden aristocrats but, as in the case of azaleas and others in this select company, there are so many very beautiful kinds that it is not easy to select the best. Some magnolias become medium-sized, others large trees. Many are not reliably hardy. So, the list for […]
