Last week I spotted an alluring plant in the garden center. It was in full bloom, offering up a cloud of small, white blossoms and a billowing habit. I reached for it, imaging exactly where in the garden it would go. Then I saw the label—Gypsophilia paniculata or baby’s breath. I stopped in mid-reach. Baby’s … Read more
About five years ago I bought an alluring plant from a roadside stand in the Finger Lakes region of Central New York State. The “stand” was actually a large cart, laden with perennials that were clearly surplus specimens from someone’s well-stocked garden. The “someone” was nowhere to be seen. Among the offerings were gaillardia daisies, … Read more
I love my roses. Something about them has stirred my imagination for far longer than I have raised them. I am not alone in my passion for these flowering shrubs. They have been in cultivation for thousands of years, and have been objects of fascination and desire for the entire time. The Empress Josephine of … Read more
When I first wrote about pincushion flowers, which go by the unattractive Latin name, scabiosa, fifteen years ago, I had just purchased a lovely one. It was a striking dark purple-flowered variety, ‘Ace of Spades’. Billed as a perennial, I cosseted the plant for its entire first year, giving it sun, water and a prime … Read more
I dislike most kinds of shopping, but there are two kinds of “brick and mortar” merchants that I will happily visit: book stores and garden centers. Why? Because they offer unique experiences that I find irresistible. In my part of the world, at least four independent garden centers have closed over the last five years, … Read more
