Hibiscus Manihot, (pronounced MAN-e-hot) commonly called Sunset Hibiscus, offers high garden value to gardeners in search of a flowering plant that will endure the gridiron summer environment of Mid-America. This hibiscus has been long overlooked but it is an amenable beauty, nonetheless. If started from seeds indoors during late February, and transplanted outdoors by early […]
Archives for April 2009
Eastern Garden Call – Get the Worm
The old saying “the early bird gets the worm” applies to gardeners as well as to birds. Those in the East who get an early start save themselves a lot of worry and fretting later on. They will also probably save themselves some money spent for plants. On the other hand, those who try to […]
Every Garden Needs a Lilac
All gardeners know and love the common lilac. It came so early to this country and fits so perfectly into the surroundings of many an old houses that many people mistakenly think it is a native plant. A surprising number of otherwise up-to-date gardeners fail to realize, however, the extraordinary beauty of the newer varieties […]
April – Opening Day for Spring Planting Season
Except for the extreme north corner, early April is the opening date for the spring planting and gardening season up North. In the far north it generally does not start until the first part of May. The first item on the agenda in April in any part of the north corner is the annual spring […]
Standing Cypress
If you like a lot of color in your garden during July and August, plant the standing cypress. Its botanical name is Ipomopsis rubra. The panicles of striking, flame colored flowers are borne on straight stems above fine, feathery foliage similar to that of cosmos. They grow in a pyramid shape, two or three feet […]
Landscape Season Begins Out West
The early blooming wild flowers in the West soon will be dotting the countryside with color – dogtooth violets, pasque flowers, frittilaries and trilliums, to mention only a few others will be blooming shyly in the woodland. Spring in the air stirs the gardener into activity. There are many chores to do. Dead perennial stalks […]
Pest Sprayer for Landscape Lawn and Garden
There is a type and size of sprayer designed to fit everyone’s needs (and pocketbooks)… all the way from the person with only a few house plants to the large estate with acres of gardens or orchards. Most gardeners prefer to have a separate sprayer, properly marked or labeled, just for chemically controlling weeds. Many […]
The Greenhouse in April – Loving the Light
Most indoor house plants are just southern plants brought north of their hardiness range. Everyone who has traveled in the South knows the spectacular bougainvillea which produces veritable floral fireworks as it billows over porches, roofs and fences. A careful look shows that the color is in a set of bracts surrounding a cluster of […]
Candlebush
Back in the 1950’s travelers to Cuba were introduced to an exotic plant flowering at Christmas time called Candlebush (Cassia alata) along with poinsettias however it took a long time for it to make its way from tropical America along the southeastern U. S. coastal states to southern US. Candlebush has many things to recommend […]
Landscape Garden Action – April North
April is the busiest month of spring up North. This is the time when trees, shrubs, evergreens, perennials and other hardy plants are set out. And the sooner this is done, the better. Any orders for plants, seeds, fertilizers and supplies should be taken care of at once, for the demand at this season is […]