A VASE OF GLOWING, GOLDEN FORSYTHIA is just the thing to alleviate winter dullness in the house. You can cut the branches in late December or early January, and they will bloom for you just 2 or 3 weeks later. And other common garden shrubs can be forced as easily. Of course the branches will… Read more »
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 »
JUST NOW, my front yard appears dressed for a royal wedding, because the enchanting Spirea vanhouttei is in bloom. You might know this deciduous shrub as the “Bridal Wreath” spirea, and the pliable, pendulous branches can indeed be fashioned into head-gear. I’m not a wreath-wearer, but I do delight in the plant’s fountain-like form and… Read more »
WHAT FUN I HAD attending the Capital District African Violet Society’s annual show in Guilderland, New York, this weekend. One of the first plants to grab my attention there was ‘Ma’s Blue Spinner,’ pictured up top. This chimera, grown to perfection by Margaret Califano, has sumptuous, semi-double blue-purple blooms, and handsome, medium-green leaves edged in… Read more »
We all know the beauty that African violets, or Saintpaulia ionantha, bring to a window garden, but have you considered their value for Christmas centerpieces and mantel displays? The picture above (click to enlarge) shows a “tower” of African violets that I crafted from various silver objects: a round tray, an inverted vase, a wine… Read more »
Are you like me — do you want flowers to greet you when you walk through the front door? This month, as if to spite the dreary cold of the outside world, the blue urn on my entrance hall table (click to enlarge) features a spring symphony of pink lilies, blue delphiniums, white snapdragons, and… Read more »
For Jon Meacham’s visit to the house today, I needed a large, colorful arrangement for the entrance hall. After all, what better way to greet the editor of Newsweek Magazine and the author of the bestselling American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House? Anne Schomaker, a friend and professional flower-designer, volunteered her considerable skills… Read more »
