I have just done battle with a formidable opponent—one that is tenacious, heavily armed and fully equipped to go on fighting for decades. This enemy of civilized horticulture has no scruples, guiding ethos or any closet-bound skeletons that would make it susceptible to blackmail. It is, in short, Rosa multiflora, occasionally known as “the Japanese … Read more
It is clear that plants are generally much wiser than I am. Tansy proves this point. Somehow, early on in the life of my current landscape, tansy or Tanacetum vulgare, made its first appearance by the hedge in the front garden. I overlooked the plant when it sprouted, but by mid-summer of the first year, … Read more
Balloons lift spirits just about any time. On hot, mid-summer days, balloon flowers (Platycodon grandiflorus) provide equal elevating power. Right now in my garden, both blue and white varieties are covered with the puffed, rounded buds that give the plants their common name. They are in the process of opening into the flattened, bell-like flowers … Read more
A friend of mine gardens in a community plot and noticed a very large, yellow-flowered plant sprouting on his allotment. He asked if I could identify it from a description, which turned out to be an easy task. At this time of the year, a plant that is three to six feet tall, with yellow … Read more
The other day I was out for a walk in my neighborhood when I saw a pair of goldfinches flitting through a bed of blue cornflowers. Backlit by the summer sun, the male goldfinch was clad in his bright yellow courting dress and the cornflowers were an especially vivid shade of cerulean blue. The picture … Read more
