Tres Jolie The Daily Advertiser From my childhood, I remember seeing bells of Ireland (Moluccella laevis) growing in my mother's flower beds and seeing her use the beautiful green flowering stems in her flower arrangements. I am baffled as to why I have not seen them in years.
Goodwill Gardening The Financial Times At 9am on a fine September day, a coach sets off from Parsons Green, that prized piece of London SW6. It’s a day-trip, the coach is packed and there’s a mood of high expectation. But there are no raised voices here, let alone anything so drastic as, say, singing, or even humming.
Stratford Garden Festival The Star Fed up with flurries? By this time of year, snow and cold has taken its toll on Canadians. But there's an easy way to take the edge off winter: flower and garden shows. From late February to late April, there's a slew of flower and garden shows to suit all interests and tastes.
February 24, 2008
In modern gardens it is spring-flowering crocuses that capture our imagination. Small wonder when they provide weeks of vivid colour, which brings whole stretches of the garden to life. They are among the easiest and most carefree of spring bulbs: once planted, many of the species will naturalise, spreading freely from seed and spontaneous division of their corms. Crocus tommasinianus is probably the most prolific of the lot, their corms magically multiplying so the dark ground is soon awash with their pale lavender flowers.
Burgeoning crocus present no problem to later planting schemes - their foliage will have died down by the time perennials get going. Though they should be planted in the autumn, now is the time to see them and select those you really care for. Garden centres and nurseries often sell them in full flower at this time of year (although this is an expensive way to buy them) and public gardens and parks have great displays. Any garden with an alpine house will probably boast a selection of the choice and dainty species for close-up perusal.
If you want to plant crocus in grass, plunge a narrow trowel, dibber or a broken wooden spade handle into the turf 15cm deep, dropping one corm into each hole as you go. Plant them in multitudes, but randomly, sometimes close together, sometimes with plenty of breathing space. And be prepared to forgo cutting the grass until late April when the foliage will have died down after refuelling the corms. Planting one variety creates the most lyrical picture - try any of the chrysanthus varieties, such as 'Zwanenburg Bronze', 'Snow Bunting', 'Cream Beauty' or 'Gypsy Girl' - but if you want rainbows, go for the Dutch hybrids.
Share the Eye:
About Hydrangeas Papa Geno's Garden Blog Hydrangea is a genus of about 70-75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and North and South America. Most are shrubs 1-3 m tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30 m by climbing up trees.
Small Gardens for Small Spaces Talk Dirt to Me At David Stevens' talk "Small Gardens Designed for People" at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show, he threw out the questions we need to ask ourselves when encountering a small yard: Where are the trash cans going to go? The bikes and the BBQ? Where do you park the car?
Fans of Felco Horticultural Anyone who knows anything about gardening equipment knows these are the King/Queen/democratically elected president of the secateur world, as used by "pro" gardeners in their droves.
still thinking about today...
