We always try to be fashion forward my household, so I expect that we will be the first in town to lay hands on the large and showy Medinilla magnifica. I saw one at a local nursery during the December holidays. It was big for a house plant–about three feet tall– and its broad, ribbed … Read more
I am a plant lover with a dirty little secret—my houseplants are dying of neglect. At the moment my foyer and dining room look like a horticultural ICU, with patients that include a collection of geraniums, cacti, African violets, orchids and amaryllis. Most spent last summer outside, happy and healthy. The majority of the geraniums … 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
This year I acquired a camellia, and not just any camellia, but Camellia japonica, the kind that I have long coveted in greenhouses and other high-toned, enclosed locales. Where does my camellia live? Outdoors in the middle of my back garden—not exactly a “protected place.” Now, in the beginning of December, the camellia has fat … Read more
