SWEDISH IVY Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania is a living testament to Pierre S. du Pont’s love of gardens and gardening, not to mention his willingness to part with large sums of money to buy and maintain both plants and place. The fabled Mr. du Pont has been gone since 1954, but … Read more
NAMING RIGHTS We have just passed the Winter Solstice, which in many ways is the most important event in the gardening year. The light begins to return and even though the addition of a few extra minutes of daylight each afternoon is imperceptible at first, we know that it is happening and it gives … Read more
AMSONIA Long ago, when I was studying perennial plants at the New York Botanical Garden, I was introduced to a statuesque plant that was holding court in one of the Garden’s perennial beds. It was nearly four feet tall, healthy and robust, as you might expect of a specimen living in such surroundings. Many … Read more
PLANT COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS “When in doubt plant a geranium.” Margery Fish, who was a star in the British horticultural firmament in the middle third of the twentieth century, said it and lived it. She was fascinated by hardy geraniums and planted them all over her garden–in beds, wall crevices and anywhere … Read more
SUSTAINABILITY “Sustainability” has become such a buzz word, that some people cringe when they hear it. While the word “sustainability” may be suffering from a terminal case of incessant repetition, I like to think that gardeners have been maintaining the practice for millennia. Yes, there was a time, beginning just after World War II, … Read more
