Perfumed Hydrangeas and Other Delights
Kate Karam says she has the greatest job in the world. Karam edits newsletters and authors a blog for Monrovia Nursery, in addition to dialoguing with people in the media about what the world’s larg...
Growing on Trellises
She may be 81 years old — with a good excuse for sitting around and not doing much — but Gina di Nino never stops working, and even makes her own pasta by hand from semolina flour. ̶...
Zinnias Are My Favorite Flowers
Zinnias are my favorite annual summer flowers, and I say this for four reasons: • They are as colorful as a kaliedoscopic rainbow. • Their many petaled blooms, like those ruffled collars seen on 17th...
The History of Persimmons and How to Grow Them
If you are seeking a medium sized shade tree, around thirty feet tall with a thirty foot spread, possessing unusually ornamental and gustatory qualities, consider the persimmon (Diospyros kaki). Alt...
The History of Corn and How to Grow It
It’s already August, but you can still plant corn, and you can thank the efforts of New England Indian tribes for this late summer option for your vegetable garden. Having received their first corn t...
Fruit Harvest Depends on Winter Cold
If you have a fruit tree or two, there’s one branch of science, despite its unfamiliar name, which you probably know something about. The science to which I refer is phenology. Phenology is the stu...
Texas Ranger and Firecracker Plant Defy Nature
It would be dereliction of duty on my part not to mention two plants, blooming now in all their glory, that defy the hottest weather with an outrageously floriferous late summer display. You look at...
Fleru-de-lis is Really an Iris
When the mob overthrew the monarchy during the French Revolution, one of the first acts of the new governing authority was to remove the flower that had been visible for centuries on flags, shields, ...
Let Beneficial Insects Do Their Work
How eager we are to find culprits or villains, whether in life or in the garden. Often, that search is merely an indication of our own impatience, stress or lazy thinking. Let’s say I get lots of hea...
Why Blue Flowers are Rare
Blue is the rarest flower color, seen on only 10 percent of the 280,000 flowering plants on Earth. Among those who specialize in color analysis, it is sometimes claimed that, in reality, there has ne...