WILLIAM ROBINSON AND I William Robinson and I are an odd couple. He was born in Ireland in 1838, only one year after Queen Victoria took the throne. I was born in New York City many, many years later. He was so successful in his garden writing and real estate investments that he was … Read more
GARDENER’S APPRENTICE #694 VERBENA My plant palate has expanded to include verbena. This is a development that would make any number of my gardening friends laugh, since verbena is a tried and true, “grandmother’s garden” plant. In its latest hybrid incarnations, verbena flaunts its charms from the shelves of every plant retailer in America. … Read more
PLANTS GONE WILD If I were making a garden reality video right now, it would be titled “Plants Gone Wild.” I would film it on location in my upper back garden, a fifteen by twenty foot area that is home to a rose covered arch and a rose-covered pillar, three other rose bushes, several … Read more
LAYERS OF MEANING For years I have wondered why I can’t love the ‘Knock Out’ rose. Millions of people sing its praises every day, including some well-known plant pundits. By all accounts it is a stellar garden performer. ‘Knock Out’s confront me at every turn–in private borders and public plantings–but I still can’t warm … Read more
PETUNIAS The world has not heard a sound, but petunias have exploded. Back in the mid to late twentieth century, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, petunias were relatively simple. Every nursery and garden center carried flats of them in shades of red, white, pink and blue-purple with occasional yellow or red and white … Read more
