Let's force some Lily of the Valley into bloom like it's 1897. That's the year Lizzie Page Hillhouse, one of the Lost Ladies of Garden Writing, wrote her book, House Plants and How to Succeed With Them. She included a chapter with instructions on how to force Lily of the Valley into bloom. She starts off with the botaical name, Convallaria majalis. Order Liliaceæ. Fortunately, the taxonimists have, so far, left the botanical name alone but they did decide to move it to another family. … [Read more...] about Forcing Lily of the Valley Into Bloom Likes It’s 1897
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May Dreams Gardens
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – November 2022
Welcome to Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day for November 2022. Here in my USDA Hardiness Zone 6a garden in central Indiana, we've suddenly been plunged into winter. If someone came here from another planet, they would probably be quite confused because just a few days ago, it was almost summer-like. But for those of us who've been here for a while, well... How about that Christmas Rose, Helleborus niger blooming already? This is probably one of the plants I bought several years ago at a … [Read more...] about Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day – November 2022
72 Hours on This Planet
Ship Log 11/10/2022 - After an uneventful landing, we have arrived at our destination planet. The inhabitants call it "Earth." We appear to be in location called "Indiana." So far this planet looks habitable. Temperatures were a reasonable 72ºF when we disembarked from our ship. It got even warmer as the sun, which appears to be their power source, moved across the sky. We think this is their Summer season. Though we didn't find a lot of food growing, we did notice edible leaves and … [Read more...] about 72 Hours on This Planet
Lost Ladies of Garden Writing: Lizzie Page Hillhouse
I recently received a box of old gardening books that someone offered me, knowing that I've often claimed my library is a sanctuary for old gardening books. The last book I pulled out of the box was House Plants and How to Succeed With Them by Lizzie Page Hillhouse (A.T. de la Mare Ptg. and Pub. Col. Ltd., 1897). There I stood between two rabbit holes—how did they tend house plants 125 years ago and who is Lizzie Page Hillhouse? Lizzie is another Lost Lady of Garden Writing. Like … [Read more...] about Lost Ladies of Garden Writing: Lizzie Page Hillhouse
Bringing Joy Back to Gardening
I was cleaning up my desk yesterday—a great way to turn procrastination into a productive activity—and came across a list of potential topics for future blog posts. There at the top was "How to Bring Joy Back to Your Garden" followed by JOY written out with little dashes next to each letter. I assumed that meant I was going to use JOY as an acronym. But wait, had I already written such a post? I did a quick search of my blog archives and came up empty handed. I did, however, find a … [Read more...] about Bringing Joy Back to Gardening
Underground Talk Overheard From the Root Zone
"Oh no, my leaves all died! Guess I'm done for this year, but I've got roots so I'll see you all again in the spring." "See you later, Hosta. Or should we say... Hasta la..." "Don't say it! I'll be back before you know it. I just hope she removes my ugly leaves soon. They are distracting my roots" "Can you believe it?! She just pulled out one of my shoots! That hurt!" "No problem, Thistle. You know what to do next." "Indeed, I do. I'm going to grow two, maybe three, more sprouts … [Read more...] about Underground Talk Overheard From the Root Zone
