The front cover of Hugh Cavendish’s new book, A Time to Plant, looks like an abstract painting in shades of olive green, tan and rust. It is, in fact, a close-up of the exfoliating bark of a stewartia tree. The tree in question is part of a collection of stewartias at Holker Hall, the Cavendish … Read more
If I were paranoid, I would say that I am being stalked by the mallow family. Regular people cannot imagine such a thing, but we plant lovers sometimes can. Consider the following….While walking on a country road in central New York State, I saw a stand of tall, single-flowered hollyhocks blooming by the side of … Read more
Florists call the tall, golden-topped stems “solidago” when they include them in expensive bouquets. I suspect that more than one person has glanced at one of those solidago-laden arrangements and said, “It looks just like goldenrod to me.” And that person would be right. Solidago is simply goldenrod in fancy dress. Just as ancient alchemists … Read more
In my yard, the mophead hydrangeas—Hydrangea macrophylla—have long since surrendered their sky-blue color to the blue-gray-beige of late summer. The oak leaf hydrangeas—Hydrangea quercifolia—have turned dusty rose. When I look at the edges of individual petals on the huge, cone-shaped flower panicles, I can see that they already have the crispiness of dried blooms and … Read more
I am being stalked by cardinal flower—Lobelia cardinalis. Otherwise known as red lobelia, the plant is tall and handsome, rising just shy of three feet and producing brilliant red flower spikes in mid to late summer. The flowers are so red that they knock you for a loop when you first see them. That happened … Read more
