Stephen Scanniello, horticulture authority and one-time rosarian at the Brooklyn Botanic garden, once said that all gardens need some purple foliage to add interest. By “purple,” he meant a shade so dark that it is almost black. Combined with green, and especially golden green hues, this purple/black transforms mundane planting schemes into visual tapestries. Thanks … Read more
What do gardeners do on vacation? Visit gardens, of course, or, if we have places to do so, garden in our vacation spaces. Ever the horticultural glutton, I do both. My sister and I own a summer cottage on nine acres of land in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. My maternal grandfather … Read more
Roses have been around for about thirty-five million years, give or take a few million. Homo sapiens came on the scene about two hundred thousand years ago. The human love affair with roses most likely started whenever the two came together for the first time. It has been going strong ever since. Humans seem hard-wired … Read more
Never say “never” in the garden. It always comes back to haunt you. For years I swore that I would never buy carpet bugle or bugleweed—Aujga reptans—under any circumstances. After all, my property came with an abundant supply that has increased exuberantly over time. Every spring the blue-purple spires light up the entire back garden, … Read more
Lately the balloon flower—Platycodon grandiflorus—has been stalking me. As I wander through garden centers in search of mid-summer bargains, the inflated buds pop out from the pallets. A neighbor’s border overflows with a blue-flowered variety. Last week, on a visit to the main garden of the Cloisters museum in Upper Manhattan, I saw a giant … Read more
