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
flowers
The Genus Viola: A Presentation
Last week, my garden club's speaker "ghosted" us, as the kids says. We attempted to contact the person, we did online searches for the person, and we came up with nothing. A no-show. It happens. So when the vice-president of the club asked me for ideas on what we could do instead, I suggested that if she thought others would like it, I could present a short program on the genus Viola. Well, long story longer, she loved the idea of a progam on the genus Viola, who wouldn't? And so I was … [Read more...] about The Genus Viola: A Presentation
Christmas Day Flower Count
Greetings of the season! Because it was in the upper 50s, lower 60s on Christmas Day—we got within one degree of the record high temperature of 64 degrees Fahrenheit set in 1893— I decided to go outside between rain showers and festivities to count how many types of flowers were blooming. There were snowdrops! These two snowdrops were blooming in the back garden. There was also one snowdrop in the front garden, which I believe I showed off for bloom day on Dec. 15th. It's still … [Read more...] about Christmas Day Flower Count
The New Plant Family Legolaceae
I've recently become acquainted with a new plant family, Legolaceae. There appear to be at least six species in this plant family, all from the genus Lego. The poster above shows these six new plants in flower. They resemble Roses, Asters, Daisies, Poppies, Snapdragons, and Lavenders. Like the Lego® Bonsai I found earlier this year, most of these plants are easy to grow, needing no water, sunlight, or soil. As cut flowers, they make a lovely flower bouquet. (Amazon … [Read more...] about The New Plant Family Legolaceae
Hyacinths on Vases
Once again, Aldi has saved my day by selling forced hyacinth bulbs right by the checkout lanes. Whew. That was a close call. You see, what happened was that in the fall I usually grab a bag of hyacinth bulbs from a display rack in the local big box store once they've been marked down a bit. Then I toss them in the back of the refrigerator and let them cool for about 10 weeks until the first week of January. At that point, I take them out, plop them on the hyacinth vases filled with water … [Read more...] about Hyacinths on Vases
Peonies, in July
It worked! I picked peonies in the bud stage way back in May, stripped off the leaves, wrapped them individually in plastic wrap, then put them in the back of the refrigerator. I peeked at them a few times to make sure they weren't growing mold or anything like that. They just smiled back at me. "We're fine, Carol, please close the refrigerator door, the light is rather bright you know." Then Monday evening, I took them out of the refrigerator, re-cut the stems, and put them in vases of … [Read more...] about Peonies, in July
