The fuchsia spotlight. Cardinal

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Fuchsia ‘Cardinal’ is another classic American cultivar released by Evans & Reeves Nurseries of Los Angeles in 1938. It has long internodes and likes to spread wide so give it room. It's also winter hardy in the usual places that fuchsias are hardy….➤ Read More

The summer windowbox. Adieu New York

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Over the course of the year, I do four different seasonal arrangements in the window, as well as the four large planters in the garden. Spring, summer, fall and winter. It's the last of its kind since I'll be heading for Portland in October. I'm really pleased….➤ Read More

Keeping winter at bay with orchids

As winter storm Harper spread snow, ice and rain throughout the Northeast, the orchids were standing tough. Well, inside the Rutgers University's Douglass Student Center in New Brunswick, NJ anyway. It's the North Jersey Orchid Society's annual show and sale this weekend….➤ Read More

Going kiku for autumn. The chrysanthemum festival

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What’s autumn without the chrysanthemum? Little it seems these days. But beyond the generic and ubiquitous mum balls that appear on every corner and outside every front door is the superb artistry and aching perfection of trained chrysanthemums, the Japanese kiku...➤ Read More

An escape down the rabbit hole. Logee's Greenhouses

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Greetings. It’s coming straight for us on Valentine’s Day. Surprise! No chocolates, though. No flowers. No Cupid’s arrow of love comes with this greeting. Nope. None indeed. Rather, an icy dagger is plunging straight down from the Arctic into the heart. An extreme Polar Vortex is expected to arrive…➤ Read More

Now appearing. Hostas take the fall stage

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Every year, as the weather cools and the garden’s summer green slowly fades to gold, I’m surprised again and delighted by how fall plays out even in this small urban space. The first performer is my potted purplebloom maple...➤ Read More

Falling leaves. All over the garden

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Fall comes slowly to this sheltered garden. When other spots are past their peak, the leaves on the nearby trees seem to equivocate a bit longer here before they finally decide to turn their attention to the coming winter...➤ Read More

A thousand blooms. The art of the chrysanthemum

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If you’re like me and go crazy for kiku every fall, one of the best displays is at Longwood Gardens. Don’t dawdle. “The Miracle of a Thousand Blooms” is worth the visit alone...➤ Read More

The ginkgo. There's an orchard hidden on my block

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Out front, on the street, the ginkgo leaves have finally fallen. They turned bright saffron-yellow and gold over the last week or two. Then suddenly, and seemingly all at once, they fell together...➤ Read More

They're big. They're beautiful. They're elephant ears!

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Elephant ears, Colocasia esculenta, lives up to its name. It’s leaves are indeed big and floppy—positively brobdingnagian sometimes—and corms from some cultivars...➤ Read More

The vireya rhododendrons at Planting Fields

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The vireyas are in bloom again and right now is the time to take in their deletable beauty in the Camellia House at Planting Fields Arboretum on Long Island. The Arboretum has a very under-appreciated bevy of vireya species and cultivars....➤ Read More

The Camellia House at Planting Fields

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Summer is now almost on us here in the City. Certainly the dew point is almost sixty-five degrees this misty morning. That’s a sure sign that our often humid, southern-flavored summers are...➤ Read More

Those sexy winter witch hazels

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After visiting the Philly Flower Show last week, I wandered over to Longwood Gardens to check out what’s blooming in the Conservatory. It took awhile because the siren winter witch hazels…➤ Read More

Summer's daylilies

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As the nights lengthen into winter, it’s time to catch up on some summer’s daylilies to liven things up a bit again. These beauties were from a visit to Montreal…➤ Read More

The dawn redwoods of Munnysunk

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Born in 1865 in Chatham, a small farming community located in New York’s Columbia County, Frank Bailey had accumulated a substantial fortune by 1911 when he purchased the old farm on the forty-three acres...➤ Read More