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
Most people think small when they think of rock gardens—miniature plants in confined spaces. Leonard J. Buck (1894-1974) was not one of those people. Buck, who made a fortune importing and exporting metal ores, created a thirty-three acre rock garden at his estate in Far Hills, New Jersey. Buck has been gone for forty years, … Read more
First the press of business kept me out of the garden, then the rain, followed by an intensely hot, sticky spell. I managed to water every day during the hot spell, which was necessary, and I pulled a few weeds. However, trying to do anything more strenuous was akin to conducting an orchestra while wrapped … Read more
NIGHT FLYERS You may have been too distracted by heat waves, summer chores or garden watering to notice, but National Moth Week is upon us. The celebration, a New Jersey-based initiative, takes place this year from July twentieth through twenty-eighth and aims to raise awareness of moths and the role they play in biodiversity. … Read more
A long time ago, someone actually planted a tawny orange daylily—Hemerocallis fulva—on purpose. I am sure the individual in question planted only one and was amazed five years later when it had morphed into an enormous clump and threatened to devour the entire garden. That is what tawny orange daylilies do. At this time of … Read more
