HERE AT A GARDEN FOR THE HOUSE, I'm busy potting tulips for indoor winter bloom. Tulipa 'Christmas Dream,' pictured up top, bloomed in my bedroom window one February. What a thrill to see the pastel-pink petals against a background of snow! Tulips will bloom at the wrong time of the year for you, too, providing you pot the bulbs in early autumn. Here's my fail-proof forcing guide: Read more » Forcing
How I Force Tulips for Winter Bloom
September 27, 2012
HERE AT A GARDEN FOR THE HOUSE, I'm busy potting tulips for indoor winter bloom. Tulipa 'Christmas Dream,' pictured up top, bloomed in my bedroom window one February. What a thrill to see the pastel-pink petals against a background of snow! Tulips will bloom at the wrong time of the year for you, too, providing you pot the bulbs in early autumn. Here's my fail-proof forcing guide: Read more » Forcing Hyacinths for Winter Bloom
September 19, 2012
WHY WAIT until April to inhale the intoxicating air of hyacinths? Pot a few in early autumn, and then you can enjoy them -- just as I do -- when January blizzards blow. Bulbs can be forced in soil, in pebbles and water, or in special vases. I favor the vases because they are small enough to fit in narrow quarters, like the latch ledge of my parlor window (above). How to coax the bulbs into early bloom: Read more » Now in Bloom, February 2012
February 14, 2012
IN DEFIANCE OF WINTER, the plants in my music room window are singing a spring song. Would you like to meet these bloomers and perfumers? Say "hello" in this click-to-enlarge photo gallery (and I hope you'll tell me what's growing in your own window garden): Read more » Chinese Sacred Lily/A Giveaway
January 11, 2012
BLOOMING NOW in the east window of my upstairs bath is the fabulous "Chinese Sacred Lily," Narcissus tazetta v. orientalis. What a welcome sight! The flowers are pure white, with a deep-tangerine cup. And the fragrance they emit -- a blend of honey, clove, and citrus -- is something to sing about. I'd like you to enjoy these perfumed blooms, too. And that's why I've purchased a package of 10 bulbs to give away in this month's random drawing. Read more » The Poinsettia Has A Future
December 8, 2011
THE POINSETTIA which on December 1 offers us the merriest of season’s greetings is all too likely by January 1 to suggest only gruesome possibilities for the coming year. Yet this need not be so. Indeed, this Euphorbia pulcherrima can, with care, be an excellent year-round companion, one which is worth coaxing into bloom each winter. The following program has never failed me: Read more » Narcissus ‘Winter Sun’
November 27, 2011
TALK ABOUT IMPECCABLE TIMING. Narcissus 'Winter Sun' bloomed in my window garden this week, just when my soul cried out for something uplifting. And what could be more hopeful than a bulb which offers, only 4-6 weeks after planting, a bevy of brilliant buttery cups, snow-white petals, and a soothing April perfume? Read more » Pickled Paperwhites (Narcissus grandiflora)
October 18, 2011
WHO WANTS TO SPEND THE WINTER MONTHS without the colorful companionship of Narcissus grandiflora? Not me! These “paperwhites” make a cheerful display in the various window gardens here, and lend sweet fragrance among scentless cyclamens, ferns, and African violets. I force the bulbs in pebbles and water, and keep the flowering stems from falling over… Read more »
