TUBEROUS BEGONIAS Everyone has his or her own vision of heaven. I have several, but one of them looks a lot like a greenhouse full of perfectly grown tuberous begonias, or Begonia x tuberhybrida, in every color of the rainbow. The flowers would be huge and perfect and unobtrusively staked to prevent floppiness. In … Read more
ROYAL ROSES The arrival of garden catalogs in the winter is like snowfall or popping popcorn. The process starts with a few flakes, kernels or catalogs and gradually accelerates until it eventually gets to the point where you have more than you know what to do with. This is going on right now in … Read more
SWEDISH IVY Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania is a living testament to Pierre S. du Pont’s love of gardens and gardening, not to mention his willingness to part with large sums of money to buy and maintain both plants and place. The fabled Mr. du Pont has been gone since 1954, but … Read more
NAMING RIGHTS We have just passed the Winter Solstice, which in many ways is the most important event in the gardening year. The light begins to return and even though the addition of a few extra minutes of daylight each afternoon is imperceptible at first, we know that it is happening and it gives … Read more
PLANT COLLECTORS AND COLLECTIONS “When in doubt plant a geranium.” Margery Fish, who was a star in the British horticultural firmament in the middle third of the twentieth century, said it and lived it. She was fascinated by hardy geraniums and planted them all over her garden–in beds, wall crevices and anywhere … Read more
