Yesterday, I took a side trip on my way home from the Twin Cities to Afton, Minnesota, to visit Squire House Gardens, a garden center specializing in unusual plants and accessories for home and garden. I visited the store last December to talk with co-owner Martin Stern and designer Kathy Oss about creating holiday pots. The garden was lovely then,…
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That’s my garden blogger’s imitation of Stanley Kowalski. Stella is back–Stella d’Oro, that is, probably one of the most planted perennials of the past 30 years, a plant that is both loved and disdained. I’ve heard it called,”the most worthless perennial of all time,” by Northern Gardener’s own Don Engebretson, a.k.a., The Renegade Gardener, and praised as “the most popular…
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During my recent vacation, I read Helen Humphreys’ novel, The Lost Garden. It’s a story about the Women’s Land Army in Britain during World War II. “Land girls,” as they were called, were sent to the countryside to raise food, particularly potatoes, for hungry Britons during the war. Humphreys has a lyrical style and the novel is a beautifully written…
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Lombard Street in San Francisco is probably one of the most recognizable streets in the United States. Its curves and switchbacks (added in 1922 to reduce the 27 percent grade on the block between Hyde and Leavenworth Streets) are filled with hydrangeas and other flowering plants. Last week, the hydrangeas were in full bloom, making the street a gardener’s heaven….
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The ‘Purple Sensation’ allium has such interesting architecture. Each little blossom in the bulb seems to be held on a stick, radiating from the flower’s center. Each blossom is a tiny daisy, and watching them emerge in mid-spring is a joy. They start out as tight little balls. Then as the bloom opens more fully you can see the tiny…
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