March/April 2024

Horticulture

Horticulture Magazine

Horticulture1 min read
Horticulture
The Art & Science of Smart Gardening Editor Meghan ShinnContributing Editor Jennifer Howell COLUMNISTS Scott Beuerlein | Thomas Christopher | Greg Coppa Jeff Cox | Niki Jabbour | Mary Purpura DESIGN Associate Art Director Carrie Topp Executive Edito
Horticulture4 min read
A Different Land
I GREW VERY TIRED of hearing about English gardens when I was a horticultural student at the New York Botanical Garden in the mid-1970s. They filled the role of a very talented older sibling whom you were urged to emulate, with the unspoken assumptio
Horticulture4 min read
Earth Verse
FOR MANY OF US who love gardens and gardening, planning the spaces we “plantify” and working outside among plants are potent forms of creative expression. From year to year, we may decide a certain corner of the garden needs more blue flowers, so we
Horticulture14 min read
Steve Castorani
IN THE 1980S, Steve Castorani founded North Creek Nurseries with Dale Hendricks. Sharing an interest in native plants, natural landscaping and ecological restoration, the two focused their southeastern Pennsylvania company on the propagation of North
Horticulture6 min read
The Right Start
WHEN I STARTED my first vegetable garden more than 30 years ago, I puzzled over whether to direct sow my seeds in the soil or start them indoors on a windowsill. “Or maybe I should just buy a bunch of seedlings from a local garden center and plant th
Horticulture5 min read
Ancient Silphium (possibly)
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO recently reported that the Vatican has opened a public exhibition called “Life and Death in the Rome of the Caesars” that features a Vatican Necropolis, a Roman burial ground located a few feet beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in Ro
Horticulture5 min read
Challenge Accepted
Gardening can seem like a never-ending battle, especially in places with dry shade and extreme cold. And did I mention the hungry deer? My family has a cabin in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, on the border of USDA Zones 3 and 4. The scenery is beautifu
Horticulture7 min read
Trees Betrayed
I HAVE CHERISHED a good number of trees over the years. Some I have planted myself in my yard and others belong to neighbors, strangers, parks and public forests. I’ll gladly drive a longer route home just to see if a certain flowering magnolia in to
Horticulture6 min read
A Walk Among Flowers
In times of uncertainty, many of us find our refuge in the garden. Labyrinth gardens go a step further, combining the peaceful beauty of favorite plants with an ancient design that facilitates walking meditation. “Labyrinths go back 4,000 to 6,000 ye
Horticulture7 min read
The Soft Side Of Conifers
Evergreen conifers have always been a staple for year-round interest and structure in the landscape. Undemanding, reliable and ever-present, these shrubs and trees are nonetheless special. The group’s smorgasbord of colors, textures, sizes and shapes
Horticulture6 min read
Just Add Carex
Sedges have enjoyed unprecedented attention the last few years. Articles in The Washington Post (2017), Horticulture (2022) and Landscape Architecture (2023) introduced many gardeners to plants in the genus Carex, which are commonly referred to as se
Horticulture6 min read
King Of The Hügel
Gardeners are taking notice of an ancient gardening technique said to reduce watering, need less fertilizer, improve soil diversity and quality and sequester carbon—all while saving them time and money. Called hügelkultur (hoo-gull-culture)—a German
Horticulture4 min read
New Plants
EACH YEAR plant brands release exciting new cultivars to market, the results of years of breeding, selecting, trialing and propagating. New plants are bred to enhance traits that make them stand out against comparable cultivars—and in your garden. On
Horticulture2 min read
THE SHARED PLANT: Jekyll or Hyde?
HOUTTUYNIA CORDATA, the chameleon plant. It sure does look nice for a few years after the unsuspecting gardener plants it. All perky and peppy, it is a joy to have and behold. A clash of color, an explosion of variegation, a hornet’s nest of vigor, i

Horticulture

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