Monthly Archives: March 2011
Oakleafs deserve a second look
POSTED BY FRED — The big trucks will be snarling two-way traffic on Woodlawn Avenue this week, which is bad news for motorists but good news for those looking to spruce up their landscape with the latest shrubs. Among some … Continue reading
Filed under Fall/winter interest, Hydrangea, Shrubs
The value of cotton burr compost
POSTED BY FRED – Among the complaints you hear from some gardeners is their inability to grow certain plants or to get them looking their best. A recurring frustration in helping a customer is to recommend a plant only to hear, … Continue reading
Filed under Favorite products, Good advice
Avoid potting soil that comes with snakes
POSTED BY KIM — This just in from Post-Dispatch editor and Sugar Creek Gardens’ guru Fred Ortlip: an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about a man who was gardening and got bitten by a copperhead snake hiding in an … Continue reading
Crocus Lawn
Here’s the crocus lawn at Missouri Botanical Garden in all its glory. I took this photo last March. Discard whatever plans you have for next week and take a day to go visit the crocus lawn. Best depression medicine yet … Continue reading
Purple Pinstripe
It is impossible to be unhappy while staring at a crocus. No matter how glum you are to begin with, a quick walk around the garden when the crocus are in bloom in sure to bring a smile to your … Continue reading
Filed under bulbs
Early White Squills
POSTED BY CALEB I miss my little bulbs. Here’s a clump of Scilla mischteschenkoana tubergeniana at Missouri Botanical Garden last spring. With the common name “squill”, it’s worth growing these for the name alone.
Filed under bulbs
Pretty Little Iris
I keep getting emails from home about all the little bulbs that are popping up and flowering throughout the garden. I’ve always been somewhat obsessed by bulbs and used to plunge in hundreds of them every fall. By now, they’ve … Continue reading
First Hellebore Open
POSTED BY CALEB I got a photo yesterday from my brother Solomon. The first hellebore of the spring has opened at home. This is a bloom of ‘Peppermint Ice’, one of the new doubles from the O’Byrnes at Northwest Garden … Continue reading
Filed under Perennials
Winter Aconite
As someone strongly affected by color, I have to confess a strong prejudice against yellow. There is nothing worse than to wake up, with the usual morning grogginess, and be assaulted by the insistent cheer of a bright yellow bathroom. … Continue reading
Filed under bulbs
