BOOK REVIEW: THE QUEST FOR THE ROSE One of my favorite horticultural subjects is roses and I have lots of books on them. In Search of Lost Roses, Thomas Christopher’s 2002 book on “rose rustling” and the discovery of old rose varieties in out-of-the-way places, is one of the best. Another is A Rose … Read more
A good friend who is selling his property just gave me a large peony root from his garden. The peony, which was billed as a white, single-flowered variety, bloomed last year, producing semi-double blossoms. I dug a shallow, wide hole for the newcomer, as peonies resent being planted too deep. Adding in a good helping … Read more
I just spent an afternoon walking the High Line, New York City’s vertical park built on the remnants of an elevated freight line on the West Side. I have heard people sing its praises since the first section opened in 2009 (a subsequent section opened last year, with another still to come) and those praises … Read more
The tall asters, now known as Symphyotrichum, will be finished with their impressive run by a week from now, leaving only some of their smaller cousins to carry on the garden show. The fall-blooming colchicums will also have finished their day in the sun, leaving only a few fading petals on the ground to show … Read more
Having just finished seasonal pruning of a rambunctious and assertively thorny rambling rose, I am reminded of the movie title, “There Will Be Blood.” The rose in question, which grows wildly, suckers aggressively and would take over the world if given the chance, also produces hundreds of winsome single, rose-pink blooms over the course of … Read more
