Candy lilies (Iris ×norrisii) are fun, easy-to-grow, underused perennials that bloom in gumdrop colors. I grew them in my garden in Kentucky and became smitten; now that I’m settled into a new garden in Portland, Oregon, I’m ready to turn that romance into a full-fledged obsession. They’ll grow pretty much anywhere, asking only for full sun, soil with decent drainage, and… Read more →
How many times have I seen ‘Zulu Prince’ Cape daisy at the back of a seed catalog and thought, “Hmm, I should try that sometime”? But I always pass it up. Well, this year I tried it, and it’s a great little annual. I ordered this plant as Venidium fastuosum from Pinetree Garden Seeds, but after digging around on the interwebs, I… Read more →
By growing borage (Borago officinalis), I’ve been feeding butterflies all along and didn’t realize it. I love Portland, but I’ve been lamenting its scarcity of butterflies since moving here two years ago. Back in the Ohio Valley, I raised monarchs, viceroys, tiger swallowtails, zebra swallowtails (my favorite), giant swallowtails, spicebush swallowtails, pipevine swallowtails, red-spotted purples, and American ladies from eggs… Read more →
*UPDATE* 09/08/16 Unfortunately, ‘Golden Foam’ set a million seeds, of which about 110% germinated in my garden (and lawn). I will be pulling seedlings for the rest of my days. Plant this thing at your own risk.—AC *UPDATE* 04/08/17 ‘Golden Foam’ is my kudzu. I hate it with a white-hot passion. What really troubles me is that it will surely… Read more →
Did you know that common orange daylily (Hemerocallis fulva) flowers are edible? They’re good, too—mild-tasting with a hint of sweetness. And they make the prettiest salad toppers. I am NOT talking about any other kind of plant called a “lily,” such as lily-of-the-valley or Easter lilies, which are poisonous (to people and to cats). As for the edibility of other species… Read more →
“I’d like to visit the swamp.” My parents thought this an odd request when I visited my home state of Minnesota last week, but I’d recently learned that I’d grown up literally next door to one of the most unique plant communities in the world, and I had never appreciated it. So I set out to rediscover the peat bogs of… Read more →
So the other day I noticed my Tonto crape myrtle had this crusty white stuff on it. Not powdery mildew, which sometimes appears later in the year on crape myrtles. Mildew looks like white film on the leaf’s surface. Mine had white stuff on the tips of the leaves. My first thought was woolly aphids or cottony scale, but it… Read more →
Your backyard should be your sanctuary, your playground, your own intimate connection to natural beauty and the rhythms of life. When we bought our current house a year ago, it wasn’t any of those things. Years of neglect had left the backyard in a sorry state. The lawn was lumpy and compacted. The only tree, a 50-plus year old Norway… Read more →
A proliferation of plant patents, trademarks, and brands in recent years has turned plant shopping into a rather confusing experience. Plants now have goofy names. Have you noticed that the Knock Out rose is also called ‘Radrazz’? Or that Endless Summer hydrangea also answers to the name of ‘Bailmer’? Tags now warn menacingly, “UNLICENSED PROPAGATION PROHIBITED.” And the plain black… Read more →
Like any activity with a long history, gardening has its share of traditions. Some of these are sound practices, while others should have been thrown on the compost heap long ago. Seed-starting is one gardening project that seems especially steeped in lore. And with good reason—the whole process of turning a dead-looking speck of dust into a vibrant, living plant… Read more →
