The Gardeners' Apprentice CAMPSIS RAMBUNCTIOUS There are some plants you should not grow if your garden is smaller than the state of Delaware. One of them is trumpet vine or Campsis radicans. In the marvelous book, Passalong Plants by southern garden writers Felder Rushing and Steve Bender, the latter refers to trumpet vine as a plant that “brings … Read more
PHLOX REDUX Sometimes you have to recognize the obvious, and in my case right now, the obvious is tall garden phlox. I see it everywhere I go. The other day I visited a historic garden in the midst of renovation. Clouds of blossoming phlox dominated the old kitchen garden. Closer to home, I varied the … Read more
SALVIA VS. VERONICA My father used to say that back in the 1950’s, you could watch just about anything on television as long as it was either wrestling or a western. Westerns have gone the way of all things, but wrestling has made a huge comeback over the last ten years. This makes me feel … Read more
FRAGRANT BOUQUET Every gardener needs a holy grail. For years mine was a hardy geranium called Geranium renardii. It had softly lobed, felt-like leaves and gorgeous five-petaled flowers that were white with purple veins. I saw Geranium renardii for the first time in the pages of an English garden magazine. It was love at first … Read more
BLACK KRIM In fashion everything old eventually becomes new again. This is why women have been wearing platform shoes on and off for centuries. Fashions and fads come and go in the world of horticulture too, and with the rise of electronic communications, the fashion cycle has speeded up. Right now, vegetable gardening is hot … Read more
