AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, I rarely buy annual, perennial or vegetable seeds from local vendors. Why? Because their selections are limited to what will fit on a rack. Take, for example, petunia seeds. The local big-box store might sell 3 basic varieties (if you’re lucky). But visit an on-line seed specialist like Summerhill, and you will find 61 petunia varieties, including the delightful ‘Shock Wave Rose,’ pictured above. The following seed-sellers get most of my business: Read more » My Favorite Seed-Suppliers…& Yours (2012 Edition)
January 4, 2012
AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, I rarely buy annual, perennial or vegetable seeds from local vendors. Why? Because their selections are limited to what will fit on a rack. Take, for example, petunia seeds. The local big-box store might sell 3 basic varieties (if you’re lucky). But visit an on-line seed specialist like Summerhill, and you will find 61 petunia varieties, including the delightful ‘Shock Wave Rose,’ pictured above. The following seed-sellers get most of my business: Read more » The Perpetual Life of Pelargonium peltatum (the Ivy-Leaved Geranium)
February 24, 2011
I’LL ADMIT I’M A SUCKER FOR THE IVY-LEAVED GERANIUM, Pelargonium peltatum. Planted in a hanging basket where its trailing stems with ivy-shaped foliage can freely cascade, it puts on a pink, rose, lavender, purple or white-tinted show that is unsurpassed by even the petunia. And, as you will soon discover, the plant is a great… Read more »
My Trial with Cosmos ‘Rose Bon Bon’
February 15, 2011
LAST YEAR, Renee Shephard of Renee’s Garden Seeds sent me a trial packet of a new, fully double Cosmos called ‘Rose Bon Bon.’ Would you like to know my honest assessment of this plant that was bred in France for the cut-flower trade? First, let me tell you that I ignored the planting-directions which came… Read more »
Seeds to Winter-Sow: Bachelor's Button (Centaurea cyanus)
January 18, 2011
SURE, Centaurea cyanus (above, in my Kitchen Garden) provides charming, long-stemmed, azure-blue flowers all summer long. And yes, it is a magnet for honey bees and butterflies. But these are not the plant’s only attributes. It also offers valium for the eyes, and serenity for the soul. I discovered its tranquilizing properties when I was… Read more »
My Favorite Seed Suppliers…& Yours (2011 Edition)
January 11, 2011
AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, I rarely buy annual, perennial or vegetable seeds from local vendors. Why? Because their selections are limited to what will fit on a rack. Take, for example, petunia seeds. The local big-box store might sell 3 basic varieties (if you’re lucky). But visit an on-line seed specialist like Summerhill, and you… Read more »
Nicotiana for Evening Perfume
July 21, 2010
I CAN’T THINK of a better evening-scented annual than Nicotiana, the “flowering tobacco” plant. ‘Purple Perfume’ (above) beguiles with dusty violet stars on one-foot stems; planted beneath windows here, it fills the house with a pleasant, invigorating air. And placed along pathways, sweeps of tall, white nicotiana insure a moonlit walk in the garden is… Read more »
Tip: First Aid for Weary Petunias
July 15, 2010
Container-grown petunias, usually picture-perfect in June, are often on the weary-side by July, and half-dead come August. This is how you can perk them up again: With scissors or hand-pruners, cut stems back by one-half to two-thirds. Then, with a kitchen fork, loosen and aerate the compacted soil. Poke gently, however, to avoid injuring roots.Next,… Read more »
