With all the attention being given to the importance of native plants in our domestic landscape, one can only wonder where all the non-natives, otherwise known as exotics, came from. If you look at plant names, sometimes including the full scientific name, you will get a hint. Many of the plants discovered in countries like China will have the name of the plant hunter included. Those who are familiar with Kerria with its sprays of golden pompoms may…
Ernest Henry Wilson (1876-1930) later known as Chinese Wilson, was British and as a young man he worked in the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. In 1898 James Veitch of the Veitch and Sons nursery asked Kew for a likely young man to send to China to find and bring back plants for the nursery. Wilson was recommended and chosen. For his first trip to China his assignment was to find and bring home seeds of the…
February 2 is best known in the U.S. as Groundhog Day, the day Punxatawny Phil comes out of his burrow to see if he has a shadow and let us know if spring will be early. No shadow today! An early spring! Of course, here in western Massachusetts we haven't had much of a winter. I have been worring that winter will arrive in April but I will trust in Punxatawny Phil. Candlemas is also a Christian holiday…
Earlier this week I entered Foster’s Market and the first thing I saw was a bank of primroses. I could not have been happier. Many years ago I bought a pot of Foster’s primroses and after the blossoms had gone by I saved the plant until spring tip toed in. I planted it at the edge of a wooded spot in our Heath backyard. I didn’t do much in the way of preparation, just digging with a…
Tulips are not currently blooming on the Bridge of Flowers, but the BOF committee has already been planning the Annual Plant Sale which will be held on Saturday, May 14, the weekend after Mother's Day. Tulips will not be for sale, but I think you can count on lots of other desirable and healthy plants that will waiting for you to make up your mind. Don't forget the date! Saturday, May 14, 2016. I really enjoy thinking about…
While browsing the web for information about plant hunter Augustine Henry I found a Daily Telegraph story about zinnias in space - space horticulture! Major Tim Peake, the UK's first astronaut has coaxed a zinnia into bloom in a micro-gravity environment. The seeds were planted by NASA's Scott Kelly as part of VEG-O1 to see what plants might grow in this environment. Lettuce was planted - harvested and eaten by the crew of the International Space Station earlier this…
The first surprising thing I learned about perennials was that they do not bloom all summer. Some may bloom for as long as four weeks, and others may send up a second flush of bloom if you remember to cut them back after the first flush. This means that to keep a swath of perennial blooms for the whole garden season you will have to choose a variety of perennials that will make timely appearances all season long.…
Every year new annuals show up in the catalogs and garden centers. These new plants may get us thinking about ways we can design our plantings, help us find flowers that will thrive in challenging situations, or help support pollinators. I will list a few of these new annual flower varieties that I found particularly appealing. The first place I check to see what is new is the All America Plant Selections website. Many of us have…
Today I have chosen to think about the beardless Siberian iris. It is such a cold, gray winter day that I needed to think about something cheerful, that presents no problems. The Siberian iris family fills the bill. When I say they present no problems I am also saying that I have good conditions for these beautiful irises. I have acid soil, and while they can take dry periods well, they welcome generous water. In Heath there was…
Sunday. It is raining! The abnormally warm temperatures are melting our one snowfall, and now it is raining. My husband cleared away the storm drain on our road and he is now investigating the liklihood of helping the drainage in the backyard. Our newly planted lasagna beds did raise the beds slightly and I think the photo gives you a hint that they are surrounded by water. The water is the deepest at the western end of the…