GHOSTS OF AMARYLLIS PAST This is the time of year when I generally order–or at least contemplate ordering–hybrid amaryllis or Hippeastrum bulbs for holiday gifts and home display. Though the most stalwart of the dahlias, roses, mums and asters are still flowering, hard frosts are just around the corner and the growing season is … Read more
FOXTAIL GRASS The popularity of ornamental grasses rolls on unabated. From miscanthus to fescue, they are everywhere–in places as diverse as strip mall parking lots and high-end residential landscapes. It is unfashionable to say so, but I can take or leave most of them. Some, like miscanthus or Chinese ribbon grass, are simply too … Read more
STANDARDIZATION I have always hated trimming shrubs–and by trimming I am referring to the taming of our long privet hedges by clipping them straight across the top to achieve a level height. Even now that I have violated my personal rule about power tools and mastered the electric hedge trimmer, the task is tedious. … Read more
THOUSANDS OF STARS There are many reasons to grow garden asters. Butterflies of every description flock to them, as do the bees so essential for pollination. Asters are mostly carefree, giving you more time to thumb through bulb catalogs, pull the weeds that persist in coming up, and finish all the chores that you … Read more
CHINESE LANTERNS I am always searching for plants that make great combinations. Right now, fall asters are everywhere. In the “waste spaces”–ditches, roadsides and undeveloped areas–wild white asters predominate. Home gardens and retailers’ establishments display a stunning array of pink, purple, blue purple and white cultivated varieties. I am especially partial to the dark blue-purple … Read more
