Rose breeders are always looking for something new—blue roses, continuous bloomers, roses that flower in the shade and plants that are absolutely impervious to climate change, pests and diseases. This has been going on for centuries, but in an era when breeding advances can be communicated around the world in an instant, the hunt for … Read more
Alan Titchmarsh is quintessentially English, from his last name to his loves—gardening, dogs, country life and the Queen. Best known to Americans from the imported gardening makeover series, Ground Force, Titchmarsh is a celebrity in Britain. He hosts the BBC’s round the clock coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show every year, has written numerous garden … Read more
Lately the garden media has been buzzing about a wonderful new plant. Acquire it and in one swoop you have checked off all the boxes on the fashionable garden requirements sheet—sustainability, native origins, attracts wildlife, low maintenance, looks good and smells good. Get one and you can feel horticulturally sanctified for an entire season. The … Read more
GHOSTS OF GARDENS PAST Last week, in need of a minor adventure, I went to Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. On the face of it, a thirty-eight minute drive to the northern part of the state might not seem like the stuff of which adventures are made. However, I was in search … Read more
One of the leading horticultural newsletters has just announced the next “big thing” in home gardening–the cutting garden. It is now clear that vegetable gardeners, who have gotten used to being considered cutting edge, will have to step aside in favor of those who are actually cutting flowers. The wheel of fashion simply never stops … Read more
