Gardeners in the western world have been hybridizing tulips for about 400 years. The resulting flowers have been varied, luscious, and mostly beautiful. However, tulips started out as wildflowers that grew on mostly rocky terrain from Central Asia to the Balkans. These wildflowers, and their near kin, are grown today as species tulips. This seems …
All avid gardeners feel compelled to inspect their gardens after any sort of lengthy separation. In fact, the separation may have been only between 8 am and 6 pm of the very same day. So you can imagine how I felt after returning from my prolonged hospital stay. The English garden writer Beverly …
Very happy to be back home after an eight day stay at Evanston General Hospital. Not that the staff aren’t exemplary. But I was tired of having apparently random groups of doctors (doctors travel in groups, like fish) come by, knead my abdomen, and ask about my bowel movements. And I was tired of the …
At this time of year the blooms of the spring bulbs tend to get all the glory. But it is also worth paying attention to the tender green growth of later herbaceous plants, as well as the woody plants that are just starting to break bud. This new growth has a freshness and sweetness that …
Getting the Garden in Shape It was a beautiful weekend, and I’m very pleased with myself for all the spring garden chores I accomplished. For starters, cutting back the rest of the stems and stalks, leaving behind enough dead leaves and plant litter to keep the bugs and birds happy. What’s more, I edged all …
At this moment we are at sort of a pause in the garden. The early small bulbs are starting to wrap up, but the larger bulbs have not yet made their appearance. The snowdrops are almost done. Their gleaming tepals are dropping and the grassy leaves are filling out. The crocus are just past their …
When I was little there was a corner planted with crocus that I would pass on my way to school. In my mind the appearance of those bright yellow, purple, and white blooms marked the true beginning of spring. Since then I have always had a soft spot for crocus. (By the way, I checked …
This past weekend was the first to really feel like spring. Saturday started cold and cloudy, but improved when the sun came out. And Sunday was even – dare I say it? – nice. The snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis and G. elwesii) are blooming and it was warm enough for them to open up their little …
Botanists like to make things complicated. Because of this, an almond is not really a nut but a drupe, and watermelons are actually berries. (Look it up if you don’t believe me.) Similarly, not all things we think of as bulbs are really bulbs. They may be corms, rhizomes, tubers, or tuberous roots. This wouldn’t …
I had begun to wonder if we had entered a new ice age, or perhaps that winter was really the one season of the year. The other seasons can only be enjoyed in the afterlife by the truly righteous. But in the last few days, winter has loosened its grip, and there are hints of …
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