ORNAMENTAL OREGANO I am always looking for non-fussy ground covers that stomp weeds and look good doing it. On a garden center run a few years ago I happened upon ornamental oregano, something I had read about but never tried. The cultivar was ‘Kent Beauty’ and it was in bloom, with pinkish flowerheads that … Read more
Porcelain-berries are among nature’s most beautiful fruits—shiny in jewel-like shades of lilac and azure to dark blue-purple, with speckles that make them look like little Easter eggs. The berries appear on long, vigorous vines with medium green, deeply dissected leaves that remind me a bit of wild grape, to which it is related. In short, … Read more
Several years back, I replaced the grass and made a garden of the “hell strip” between the sidewalk and street in front of my house. Money was a bit tight, so I bought young plants in quart pots rather than the gallon or multi-gallon containers. Now they have succeeded so well that unless I do … Read more
A dear friend of mine is trying to grow wisteria. For years she has coveted the feathery foliage and long, fragrant purple racemes of Wisteria sinensis, the traditional Chinese wisteria. One day she ventured into a garden center and fell in love with ‘Amethyst Falls’, billed on the plant tag as a purple-flowered wisteria. She … Read more
It is amazing how far afield you can go on a rainy day when you are trying to order garden phlox. In my case I went all the way to Long Island in the 1920’s, with detours that went even further back. All of this started as a quest for information about a particular tall … Read more
