Frikart’s Aster

There was a time—though I hardly remember it now–when I had no asters in my front garden. Then I planted one small pot of a tall, pink-flowered aster named ‘Alma Potschke’. ‘Alma’ prospered—so much so that now, if I didn’t pull out some of the seedlings every year, I would probably have thousands of ‘Alma … Read more

Crape Myrtle–At Last

After about three years of indecision and inattention, I have finally acquired a crape myrtle, known to its botanist friends as Lagerstroemia indica. The acquisition involved aging by yet another year and alerting my daughter to the fact that a crape myrtle might make a wonderful birthday present. Now, I am the proud owner of … Read more

Golden Surprise

What features are essential to a successful garden? Some people would say “structure”. Others would opine that no garden is complete without some kind of water feature—even if that water feature is only a birdbath. Still others would say “evergreens” or “hardscaping” or “four seasons of interest”. All of those things contribute to the best … Read more

Joe Pye-weed

Sometimes I find Joe Pye-weed, or Eupatorium maculatum, annoying. Let me count the ways. First, the North American native plant is vigorous to the point of invasiveness, with a seed germination rate that must be about 150 percent. The wind carries those seeds all over the place, starting new colonies wherever the seeds happen to … Read more

The Little Tulips

In 1957, Elizabeth Lawrence, a great American gardener and garden writer published The Little Bulbs: A Tale of Two Gardens. It is a small book, as befits its subject, but eloquent on the topic of small plants and big friendships. The Little Bulbs is still available from used book outlets and is well worth investigating. … Read more