The masters of the color universe at Pantone have decreed that “Radiant Orchid,” a shade of rosy purple, will be the 2014 “Color of the Year.” The promotional copy is effusive, describing Radiant Orchid as a shade that “blooms with confidence and magical warmth that intrigues the eye and sparks the imagination.” Not only that, … Read more
These days plant dealers need specimens that do the following things: look good ninety-eight percent of the time; provide reliable color or interest; perform in part shade; flourish in gardens or containers and require very little care. Breeders have slaved over certain perennial plant genera, including heuchera, tiarella and brunnera, in an effort to produce … Read more
Europeans have always been crazy about hedges. In England they are practically a religion. We Americans, with our love of wide open spaces and vast suburban lawns, have generally been less hedge-crazy. It isn’t that we don’t like shrubs. In the twentieth century we have used everything from salix to sand cherry to conceal the … Read more
Sometime in 1765, American botanist John Bartram and his son, William, were prowling through what is now the state of Georgia in search of new and unusual plants. While botanizing near the banks of the Altamaha River in southeastern Georgia, they found a group of interesting trees or large shrubs with white, camellia-like flowers. In … Read more
When Francis H. Cabot died in 2011 at the age of 86, New York Times obituary writer Margalit Fox credited him with creating “two of the most celebrated gardens in North America.” Last weekend, when the temperature and weather were close to perfect, I visited one of them, Stonecrop Gardens, near Cold Spring, NY. Born … Read more
