One of the things I did this weekend was underplant my container Tulips with Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima). Sweet Alyssum is a fairly common annual – but it should be even more common, because it is a plant with an amazing capacity to make people happy. It is easy to grow and just a few …
Late last week I made my first visit of the year to Anton’s, one of my favorite local nurseries. To say that they know me there is an understatement. In fact, in spring and summer I make so many appearances that the staff often remind me to punch in my time card. What Anton’s …
I’m not real thrilled with my containers in sun this year. Each of the individual plants is nice, but they don’t collectively have the impact you would wish for. Back in the spring my containers were filled with tulips or pansies with a bit of stock (Mattheola incana). They had real visual punch. Now my …
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 …
It’s August, a good time to evaluate my plant choices for containers in sun, particularly those I am trying for the first time. There are some definite stars, and one surprising disappointment. Firecracker Plant (Cuphea ignea). This guy is also known as Cigar Plant, but Firecracker Plant is both more descriptive and lacks the negative …
So the first weekend home after a long series of business trips came to an end was cold and intensely wet. I pretty much guaranteed this when I invested in a new set of soaker hoses, just as you increase the likelihood of rain when you remember to bring your umbrella. I am looking forward …
You know when you’re expecting guests, and you are trying desperately to clean the house and get the food ready, and somebody shows up 30 minutes early while you are still shoving piles of papers and books into random drawers? Well, I had the horticultural equivalent to this experience today. I had taken the day …
Last fall I wrote about how I had planted 96 hybrid tulip bulbs in containers for the spring of this year. I prefer to use species tulips, which are smaller and more perennial, in my beds. Judy, however, missed the big, luscious hybrid tulips, and so I thought I would give growing them in containers …
Charleston was one of the first major towns in the American colonies. The historic district is full of well-preserved buildings from the early 19th and 18th Centuries. In fact, it seems every building in that part of town had a plaque attesting to its age and historic significance. I found Waterfront Park and the Battery …
Yep, all 90 of them. I planted them in containers for the first time, having decided that tulips weren’t really a good fit in my perennial beds. For starters, the dying foliage flops over other emerging plants. Also, they are often short-lived, and since tulips need to be planted deep, replacing them can be disruptive …
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