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
THE ORCHID SITTER Orchids are everywhere in the floral world right now. I saw hundreds of them at the recent Philadelphia Flower Show. The New York Botanical Garden is right in the middle of its annual orchid show, as is Pennsylvania’s Longwood Gardens. If I were a betting person, I would wager that the upcoming … Read more
WINTER LESSONS In the eighteenth century English landscape architect William Kent took the advice of his contemporary, poet Alexander Pope, and consulted “the genius of the place” when designing landscapes for his wealthy clients. By doing so Kent helped launch a design movement that eschewed formality in favor of creating landscapes that meshed with the … Read more
