I am happy to report that the Victorian Society in America has given my new book All about Flowers: James Vick's Nineteenth-Century Seed Company its annual book award. According to their website, the Victorian Society presents its award to up to…
To choose a pollinator for your garden is not always an easy thing to do. Well, we have help from the Garden for Wildlife. Why not choose a native plant? Each state has its own unique collection of native plants.…
Hybridizing became popular in the nineteenth century, especially when growers sought new plants for the garden. There was a side effect however. Horticulturist Lawrence Griffith in his book Flowers and Herbs of Early America makes the point that because of…
In 1878 James Vick, nineteenth century seed merchant, in his garden magazine Vick's Illustrated Monthly mentioned cuttings as a way to propagate a plant. He said, "The most rapid method of propagating this plant [Dracaena congesta] is by cuttings of…
Our native sunflower is one of my favorite flowers. It comprises the genus Helianthus, which contains about 60 species, including our popular H. Annuus that belong to the family Compositae. When I heard about a local field of sunflowers I…