Flower gardens followed farming. It is spring and my thoughts turn to working in the garden. My garden includes beds of perennials, colorful shrubs, many trees, vines, and soon several annuals that I simply must have. It may seem that flower…
Pompeii Treasured Flowers Among the ruins of the city of Pompeii, near Naples, I was impressed with evidence of how people cultivated trees, shrubs, and flowers. Here is a photo from my visit to Pompeii. [below] What amazed me was…
Eighteenth century English landscape garden included flowers. The modern landscape garden began its influence on the evolution of the English garden in the early eighteenth century. Its distinctive features included views of a long extensive lawn, curved pathways, wooded areas,…
Nurseries Made Dahlias Popular. Plants enter our gardens usually through the portal of the green industry like seed companies, nurseries, and growers. That was the case with the dahlia. Originally from Mexico, the dahlias appeared in Spain in the eighteenth…
Exhibit Showcases Celia Thaxter's Salon This must be the summer of all things Celia Thaxter (1835-1894). Earlier this summer I posted here about her biography that I had just read. Then I wrote about the wonderful Childe Hassan (1859-1935) exhibit at…