Doris Duke—1912-1993—was a millionaire heiress with multiple homes, a colorful personal life and a peripatetic nature. Whenever she touched down in New Jersey, she came to rest at Duke Farms, a property established by her father in the state’s central region. In Duke’s time, the mammoth greenhouses at Duke Farms contained a series of themed … Read more
MOCK ORANGE Plant breeders and merchandisers are working hard to create the perfect garden plant and I am sure someday they will do it. This paragon of horticultural virtue will be easy to care for, pest and disease resistant, adaptable to a wide range of conditions and perform equally well in sun and partial … Read more
Nearly two centuries ago, Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, an English physician and amateur botanist, made a surprising discovery. Ward liked to study moth chrysalises, which he kept secure in sealed glass containers. Inspection of one such container revealed that seeds embedded in a bit of dirt inside had germinated and sprouted. He left the container unopened … Read more
Pity the poor parlor maple. It is not a maple tree by any stretch of the imagination and its days of houseplant stardom peaked back when people still had parlors. It’s a sad predicament for a lovely plant. The plant taxonomists will never assign parlor maples, more formally known as Abutilon x hybrida, to the … Read more
Unless you are a teenager, it is generally a good thing to be “grounded.” For non-teens, the word implies common sense and a focus on reality, as opposed to flights of fantasy. People who are grounded are reliable—the kind you want as friends or neighbors. The kind you rarely get as relatives. More and more … Read more
