Penstemon, pronounced pen-stem-on belongs to the same family of plants as the familiar snapdragon, and many of the species produce spikes of bloom with a superficial resemblance to that flower. Colors range the spectrum with most species falling into the blue-purple-red range. There are a few white and yellow forms as well. The colors appear […]

Some gardeners feel that it’s hardly worth while bothering with biennials. Nevertheless, this much neglected group of flowering plants lends variety and interest to the garden panorama, and helps provide a continuous succession of bloom, so essential in the well-planned landscape. What would we do without the happy, flouncy Canterbury bells, the showy foxgloves, or […]

In this age of striving for more size in everything from planes to posies, an ordinary landscape gardener is often quite overwhelmed. Take glads, for instance. In the shows the stalks get taller and the florets larger by the year. The trend is quite fine for shows but not exactly suited to my modest garden. […]

Question – I have several large clumps of Shasta daisies in my garden in Alabama. When is the best time to separate and replant them? Answer – Late fall is really the best time to separate Shasta daisies, not only in Alabama but all through the South; but it is also possible to do it […]

Hyacinths, tulips, daffodils and other bulbs that were potted in October and stored in a cold, dark place have developed enough roots so that they can be started into growth and forced into flower. Generally, it does not take more than ten to twelve weeks in cold storage for the bulbs to develop enough roots […]

For an awful long time and for as long as anyone can see into the future, the big three annuals of the garden world have been and will be zinnias, marigolds, and petunias. For many landscape color fanatics they are eminently capable of carrying the spring and summer color load. If you want variety beyond […]

Plant a bed of Marigolds this spring, and you’ll discover one of the most rewarding annuals that can be grown in America. No green thumbs are needed to grow armfuls of marigolds. Because of their hardiness they may be planted early in the spring, and will keep blooming right into the cold nights of early […]

As far as the gardener is concerned, the word bulb has been broadened to include tubers, corms, rhizomes, and even fleshy rooted perennials. The insurance that these plants give you is in their ability to store sufficient food to make flowering almost inevitable. In some cases such as daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths, the flower is […]