The Explorer’s Garden: Shrubs and Vines from the Four Corners of the World
The beauty of Dan Hinkley’s writing is that it has matured as his personal aesthetic for plants has grown more defined. The wild world is…
Plants: Flowering plants, vines, and bulbs
A Perennial Border Reborn
In 1991, the Northwest Perennial Alliance (NPA) undertook a seemingly impossible project: design, plant, and maintain a 17,000- square-foot herbaceous…
Ninfa: The Most Romantic Garden in the World
To paraphrase an old Italian saying (regarding the magnificence of Naples), one should “see Ninfa and die,” as it surely is superior to Naples and…
Extensive Green Roofs: Horticultural Considerations for Stormwater Management
Erin Schroll, a student at Oregon State University (OSU), undertook a study of extensive green roofs to determine aspects of their design, plant selec…
Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities
Azaleas and rhododendrons, hydrangeas and alstroemeria, daphne and even my favorite Robinia…all grow vibrantly in my garden adding beauty and delight, without the slightest hint…
Garden Allies: Solitary Bees
Bees played a central role in increasing this biodiversity. Unlike the highly social honey bee, native bees usually live a solitary existence. Solitar…
A Surprising Landscape at Pitzer
Never before had I seen a campus landscaped like Pitzer College, in Claremont, California. Its buildings are surrounded by the most sophisticated and …
The Auricula: History, Cultivation and Varieties
The auricula (Primula auricula) will never match the drama or economic impact of the tulip, as featured in Anna Pavord’s definitive The Tulip (Bloomsbury, 1999).…
Starting Your Own Native Bee Sanctuary
Native bees provide us with the essential service of pollination and are the most effective pollinators we have. Gardens can be easily designed or mod…