Sempervivum tectorum – Royanum Hens and Chicks

Since confession is good for the soul, I feel compelled to say that I always order too many seeds.And since making excuses is one of the hallmarks of the human condition, I will also say that my seed surplus is not entirely my fault.Seed companies and garden magazines and charities send me all kinds of small seed packets in an effort to get me to buy or subscribe or donate.Since to err is human and to forgive divine, I will strive for divinity by forgiving my own horticultural gluttony.

No other vegetable captures the succulence of summer like sweet corn. Whether you like your kernels white, yellow, or with both colors on the same ear, new hybrids offer incredibly delicious flavor with very little effort.

Seeds are produced by plants following the fertilization of the flower, as a means of reproducing the plant. Each seed is a plant embryo, which consists of a minute shoot and root and a store of food. The food reserve enables the embryo to grow before its root is developed to absorb nutrients from the soil and before the leaves emerge above the ground and make sugars by photosynthesis, a complex process. In some seeds, such as those of sunflowers or

Tagetes (Tage’tes) are annuals of great decorative value during the summer and autumn months. They are natives of Mexico and South America and belong to the Daisy family, Compositae. The name is said to have been derived from a mythological deity, Tages. These Marigolds are quite distinct from the Pot Marigold or Calendula. See Calendula

Beans include many types of snap beans, pole beans, and Southern peas, such as black-eyed types. Plant these in spring after all danger of frost has passed. Because they grow so fast, start beans from seed directly in the garden. To speed their sprouting, soak seeds in water overnight before planting.

Trees for shade should be planted only after thoughtful selection, for those that may be very suitable in June may be less so in August. The Linden and the Mulberry are delightful trees when they come into leaf, but in July and August the former may make everything near by dirty with dripping honeydew, and in August and September falling Mulberries stain almost everything with which they come in contact.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of landscaping is reviving the gardens of older properties, where generations have pottered and pruned.

The cabbage family includes the following vegetables that grow best in cool weather: cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, collards, and a delicious, yet little-known vegetable, called kohlrabi. Most of these vegetables are sold as transplants in the spring and again in late summer for planting in the fall garden. They are not difficult to grow if you give them plenty of space, ample moisture, and keep them well fed at all times.

Placing trees of these colors needs great care, but their colors mingled with the multitude of others in autumn are effective and of great beauty; they do not blend well with the normal greens, particularly if used in quantity. They should, therefore, be used sparingly in isolation at points where they will inevitably catch the eye.

No water garden is complete without a bog garden as some of the most beautiful and interesting plants thrive in such situations. Many ponds and lakes have a natural perennially damp surround which requires no more attention before introducing plants than to remove unwanted weeds.

Against a backdrop of gently swaying tall Grasses, this garden recreates the look of a prairie wildflower meadow. Make sure you have enough room for the Saccharum Grass-it gets huge! If space is limited, you may want to use Calamagrostis `Karl Foerster’ in its place. Give this garden a full day’s sun and average soil. Before planting, clear the area of existing grass or weeds. After you have installed the perennials, sow seeds of a nonaggressive Grass, such as Little Bluestem, between them. These will grow into tufts of pretty meadow Grass, lending even more of a naturalistic look while helping to suppress weeds. Just a late-winter cutting of the dried Grasses and stalks is all the maintenance you’ll need to do. Since all of these wildflowers are from sturdy stock, they’ll need supplemental watering only during periods of drought. From midsummer through fall, this little piece of prairie will sing with color.

Fragrance in flowers is such a desirable attribute that it’s a perennial complaint of many gardeners that modern varieties of various plants, particularly roses, lack all or most of the fragrance of the older varieties. This is demonstrably untrue of many varieties, of course, yet there is a good deal of truth in the generalization. Some varieties are certainly much less fragrant than the ‘old-fashioned’ roses and a few seem to lack detectable fragrance, but, on the whole, a good modern variety will number fragrance among its qualities. Much depends, of course, upon the individual sense of smell, coupled with the ‘scent memory’ which all of us possess to some degree. It is, in fact, usually well developed and most of us are readily and instantaneously reminded by present scents of past incidents, places, and persons, and although the actual vocabulary of scent is limited, it is usually possible for us to describe a scent fairly accurately by comparing it with another. Thus it is quite usual for us to say that a flower has a lily-like fragrance, or that it smells like new-mown hay.