New York nineteenth-century seed company owner James Vick (1812-1882) included a large collection of flowers in his catalog. He also offered some plants, like the caladium, that you grow for its colorful leaves. Vick wrote in his catalog of 1873…
Just finished a wonderful book about English gardens. It's not your typical English garden material that seems to shout from the rooftop: this is so beautiful, and you should do it in your landscape. No, this book is about your…
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a private garden on three acres, south of Boston. The major plant in the garden is the hosta. You might call the owners in fact hosta collectors. Three hundred hosta cultivars add…
Certain plants , whether they like it or not, become part of a wave of popularity. One day nobody grows them, and the next you can't find them in the nursery. That's the case with the dahlia, my favorite flower.…
I just finished a massive volume on early American gardens, published by the Garden Club of America. The title says it all: The Golden Age of American Gardens: Proud Owners, Private Estates, 1890-1940. The authors Mac Griswold and Eleanor Weller…