WANT TO FILL YOUR HOME WITH COLOR AND FRAGRANCE THIS WINTER? Then do what I do, and pot plenty of Dutch bulbs in early October. From tiny blue anemones and fragile white snowdrops to big, fabulously-perfumed hyacinths (that’s pink ‘Fondant’ pictured above), these beauties from Holland provide in the depths of winter all the essence… Read more »
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; how I smiled when its pastel-pink petals open against a background of snow! Tulips will bloom at the wrong time of the year for you, too, if… Read more »
MY HOUSEPLANTS RETURNED TO THE WINDOW GARDEN YESTERDAY, after their sunny summer holiday outdoors. Prior to their coming in, I gave them two “acclimatizing” weeks on the shady patio. You see, if plants are moved too quickly from sun and humidity to diffused light and a dryer atmosphere, they inevitably drop their leaves. And here… Read more »
IF YOU HAVE A DEEPLY-SHADED AREA ON YOUR PROPERTY, consider planting Caladium hortulanum there. The leaves, strikingly colored and patterned, are as effective as flowers. I certainly enjoy the psychedelic caladiums that brighten my dark Woodland Garden all summer. Closeups of these deer-proof exotics, and my tips for growing and overwintering them: C. ‘Frieda Hemple’… Read more »
LIKE CAMP FOR CHILDREN AND SEA BREEZES FOR ADULTS, houseplants, too, benefit from a summer vacation out of doors. Here, under nature’s ideal growing conditions, most of them are able to recover from the frustrations of house life, and to store up a reserve of health for the next winter ahead. Here are some tips… Read more »
IS THERE A 12-STEP PROGRAM FOR AFRICAN VIOLET ADDICTS? I only ask because yesterday, after struggling to find new quarters for the violets that lived on the fluorescent-lit shelves in my study (I needed the shelves for my big tomato sowing venture), I then drove to Albany, attended the Capital District African Violet Society’s annual… Read more »
DO YOU REMEMBER the hyacinths I double-potted back in December? As you can see in the photo above, the upper level have bloomed. The lower bulbs, because they have farther to travel, won’t bloom for another 2-3 weeks. Meanwhile, the five presently-open stalks are emitting the most glorious scent in the world, one I can’t… Read more »
