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 » 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 » Eye-Candy for the Winter Weary
December 27, 2011
I'M GRATEFUL for the plants which are willing to bloom with summer exuberance in winter windows. Take, for instance, the 'Fiesta Pink Ruffle' pictured above. I bought this Impatiens wallerana last spring, nurtured it in a pot all summer, and then brought it to the window in my upstairs bath in autumn. Although the plant receives only weak morning sun there, its fully-double, rosebud-like blossoms have formed in constant profusion. The only pampering the plant requires is daily water with a little high-phosphorous food mixed in. And here's more eye-candy for the winter-weary: 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. You see, lately I've been feeling rather glum about all the turmoil in the world. But what could be more hopeful than a bulb which offers, only 4-6 weeks after planting it, brilliant buttery cups, snow-white petals, and a soothing April perfume? Read more » November Brilliance: The “Thanksgiving” Cactus (Schlumbergera truncate)
November 7, 2011
THE CACTUS PLANT I TREASURE MOST comes not from the desert, but from the mountains of Brazil, where it grows, like the orchid, in the crotches of trees. I’m referring to the magnificent Schlumbergera truncate, pictured above. How to grow this easy-to-find “Thanksgiving Cactus,” and how to tell it apart from the rare “Christmas Cactus:”… Read more »
How to Divide & Conquer the Boston Fern
October 3, 2011
HOW MANY OF YOU are in proud possession of an enormous Boston Fern — and where, may I ask, do you overwinter it? My own pair of Nephrolepsis exaltata (you have to love that name) grew so large and luxurious over summer that I couldn’t possibly find winter quarters for them. Not as a pair,… Read more »
