There is no doubt about it. Sedums, sometimes also known as “stonecrop” are having a moment. The moment has been facilitated by all kinds of factors—explosions in plant breeding, the demand for easy-care plants, the trend towards global warming, and increased awareness of the overall utility of this large plant family. There are at least … Read more
I have always been insecure about plant propagation. This is not to say that my plant holdings have failed to increase. I glory in the fact that many of my garden beauties propagate themselves by flagrant reseeding. The daylilies increase all on their own, as do ajugas and other plants that spread by underground roots, … Read more
It has been at least four years since I last grew the lovely plumbago, with its cascading habit and sky-blue flowers. This was not because I had grown tired of plumbago, but because my last plumbago grew tired of me and died. I did not take it personally, since the death happened in January, as … Read more
If you watch BBC Gardeners’ World, as I do, you will know that every single garden includes a water feature. Estate owners have them, of course, but so do gardeners whose landscapes consist of an array of containers ranging down a back alley. If you are familiar with the idea of a water lily growing … Read more
As ornamental plants go, Deptford pink or Dianthus armeria, also sometimes known as grass pink or mountain pink, rates somewhere on the showiness scale alongside snowdrops. The flowers are about half an inch wide, on slender stems that max out at 12 inches, but are often shorter. To add to this picture of general inconspicuousness, … Read more
