If you found a stapelia growing on a window sill on Mars, it wouldn’t surprise you. Even in its native Africa, this strange plant has an out-of-this-world look. Botanically, it is described as a succulent with four-angled. leafless stems. It grows quite close to the ground. never reaching more than a foot in height. All […]

The clan of viburnum has a several shrubs which are excellent for small properties. One is the linden viburnum, named because the leaves happen to be somewhat of the the same size and shape as those found on the linden tree.

Question: My wax plant – Hoya carnosa does not bloom, no matter what plant fertilizer or where I move the plant, it just will not bloom, any advice? C Wood, NY Answer #1: My wax plant, Hoya carnosa, is now five years old, having been started in water from a small three-inch cutting. It occupies […]

I read an article on cardinal flower with interest, appreciation and complete agreement, except for one point: I would be less cautious and more enthusiastic in giving directions for growing cardinal flower in captivity. That any wild flower so beautiful could establish itself in the garden with the exuberance – and sometimes the willfulness – […]

Oriental poppies are one of our hardiest and most colorful perennials. Many clumps 20 years old are still giving brilliance to gardens each spring. Unfortunately, though, many gardeners consider them hard to grow because losses have resulted from spring planting or planting pot-grown plants with poor root systems. Lack of good drainage (which is absolutely […]

The useful holly makes an ideal hedge and does well in informal groups and as a background for dogwood and other flowering shrubs, but perhaps nowhere is it more effective in landscape work than when planted with plenty of room to grow into a beautiful specimen tree. You will enjoy it a long time, for […]

Inseparably linked with Christmas and long a favorite winter decoration, the holly has established a claim upon our hearts which sets it apart among evergreens. The startling loveliness of its brilliant berries studded among lustrous, dark green leaves, at a time of year when most trees are bare or unrelieved somber evergreens, places it in […]

Taking up little space, but enjoying a front seat in a south window, the South American Oxalis brasiliensis makes a lovely pot plant. Many oxalis tend to recline or droop, but this is a neat-appearing plant with upright leaf stems 4 or 5 inches high. Its trifoliate, shamrock-like leaves are barely an inch wide on […]

I have harped on the desirability of Hunnemannia fumuriaefolia before, but this Mexican tulip poppy is still too seldom seen in Southland gardens. Full sun and good drainage are imperative to the comfort of this delightful wild flower from Mexico, where it receives good rains during its growing season and the early part of its […]

Fog and hydrangeas get along together very well. These deciduous Chinese shrubs of the saxifrage family have been blooming for most of the summer and are still ornaments of the garden in shade. Before they stop flowering – probably early in the winter – do look into some of the newer forms, as some uncommonly […]