Accent Your Garden

You can put a little interest and class into your backyard when you put in garden arbors . These ornamental accessories really augment your garden spaces. To select the right arbor for your yard you must look at placement, decoration, and the materials used in its construction. Garden arbors are sometimes made using either wood, metal, or vinyl. When selecting which material is best for your yard consider the pros and cons of each material. Wood is the most popular material used in the dev

by Keith Markensen Difficult or temperamental lilies. No doubt it will he helpful to discuss some of the specific vagaries of a few of our more difficult or temperamental Lilium auratum is actually a very easy lily to grow and flower, but it is a rather difficult one to keep. This is largely be-cause of its liability to mosaic infection. Consequently it must be protected by relative isolation and by regular spraying. In my experience a planting depth of 8 to 12 inches is best, though if the

by Lori Feldman on August 28, 2009 Gardeners in seaside locations encounter a unique set of challenges, including salty spray; drying winds; sandy soil that may lack nutrients; and (in Zones 5-6) cold winter weather.Salt can be damaging in a variety of ways. It stunts plant growth and can sear foliage. The damaging effects of salt cannot be neutralized with chemicals or fertilizers.Planting is difficult in sandy soil. There are few nutrients. Water drains right through it, and sandy soil is e

The other day, I walked into the TV Room when lo! What is this? A FROG! How did it get in here? There are no trees and ponds and grass in this room. Perhaps it hopped in all the way to escape the pounding of the monsoon rain today. Now, a long long time ago, I used to enjoy observing frogs in my small garden back when we were living in a happy, single-storey terrace house. Mum had warned me not to catch frogs with my bare hands because, she said, the clever frog will shoot a jet of pee

A couple of years ago a new summer flowering plant was added to the Fairegarden. Not especially showy or splashy, but with a name that could not be denied. Helenium, or Helen’s flower. Helen was my mother’s name. Her middle name was Frances. (Shown above trying to break through to center stage between two Eryngiums.)The flowers were so cheerful and brought to mind such fond memories, a second plant was added. Both were H. ‘Mardi Gras’ and they were indeed like a joyful party. The little buzzers