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Articles from Francis Rosenfeld | Selfgrowth.com
- How to prune roses - by Submitted on Jan 12, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldPruning is a simple and necessary part of keeping a rose healthy, strong and blooming. If you prune the rose wrong, you may not get a lot of flowers the following year, or none at all, but there is no wrong way to prune that will kill an established rose. If anything, if you can live with a ...
Views: 681 - How to Prune Roses - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2020 from Francis RosenfeldThere is something I'm looking forward to this spring: I can't wait to find out if the two roses I started from cuttings last fall took root. It's almost time to start caring for roses, now that the threat of killing freezes is over and before they come out of their dormancy. If you are ...
Views: 398 - Hybrids - by Submitted on Sep 16, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldIn the world of plants the word hybrid immediately brings forth a specific image: greenhouses filled with long tables covered in little potted plants, perfectly tended to by a diligent team of professional growers and fed a perfect blend of nutrients to optimize their development. The truth ...
Views: 497 - Itinerant snapdragons - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldMy lovely itinerant snapdragons! Anticipating their next location is one of my favorite gardening activities. I am not sure why this particular plant likes to change its location, but it does so with a fluid path of movement devoid of the randomness of tomatoes or nicotiana in its slow ...
Views: 581 - Jack in the Pulpit - by Submitted on Apr 10, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldI know that Jack in the Pulpit is not the only living thing that changes genders in order to adapt to its circumstances, but I still think it is a cool enough fact to mention. The plant starts out male and if in time it finds its location accommodating and its nutrient supply adequate, it ...
Views: 592 - June Tangerine or How to Care for Daylilies - by Submitted on Jul 23, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldThe day lilies came with the house and they were already established when we moved in, so I didn’t pay much attention to their care. It showed. I used to take day lilies for granted because they are so ubiquitous in public and commercial outdoor spaces people see them as care free. That they ...
Views: 456 - Keeping roses healthy - by Submitted on Mar 09, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldHaving healthy roses is more about prevention than it is about cure. Give the shrubs plenty of space to prevent moisture from sticking to their leaves, make sure they have at least six, preferably eight hours of full sun a day, plant them in well draining soil with plenty of organic matter and ...
Views: 635 - Kitchen garden marigolds - by Submitted on Feb 19, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldIsn't this beautiful? Few annuals are easier to grow than marigolds, a quality that makes them so ubiquitous one tends to overlook their genuine charm. All a marigold needs is sunshine, everything else it will do for itself. Of course, because I planted mine in the vegetable patch, they were ...
Views: 644 - Lady Marmalade - by Submitted on Aug 31, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldSometimes you just need the right lighting to really appreciate colorful foliage, although this little purple beauty won't go unnoticed through the summer when it competes for interest with the daisies and the crane's bills. Another near miss in the battle with the mighty hellebores (I swear, ...
Views: 657 - Lemon Verbena - by Submitted on Nov 16, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldWhether you grow lemon verbena as a medicinal or an aromatic plant, it gets plenty of uses, from flavoring fish and fruit salads, as a replacement or in addition to lemon zest, to pleasant calming brews. For those who love to exercise, it is particularly effective in reducing muscle and joint ...
Views: 691 - Lilacs - by Submitted on May 04, 2020 from Francis RosenfeldEvery year when I enjoy the abundant bloom and fragrance of my Miss Kim lilac I count myself lucky for my tendency to procrastinate. I put off pulling what looked like a dead shrub for an entire summer and fall, only to be surprised with blooming branches the following spring. Lilacs are ...
Views: 379 - Lilies - by Submitted on Nov 27, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldMy Triumphator lilies bloom for only a few days at the height of summer, and I often miss their splendid flowers altogether, busy with other things, but some days the morning garden is blessed with a light that looks simply surreal. That being said, the most common lily varieties are almost ...
Views: 623 - Little Miracles - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldThe amount of time I spend contemplating the fresh seedlings in the starting tray would probably irritate an action oriented person. I would likely have some difficulty explaining to that person the wonderment of seeing the first set of leaves emerge, or the excitement of watching the tiny ...
Views: 577 - Loops - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldTalk about unbounded, here is to the endlessly growing morning glory, swirling around supports and draping over hardscape, deceptively strong with its springy vines weaving an intricately detailed and highly redundant veil the color of the sky. The braided loops that clamber trees shy away ...
Views: 584 - Love Story - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldPeople ask gardeners all the time why they waste so much time and effort on a pursuit that at any scale smaller than a farm yields so little benefit? Green thumbs may be blindsided by the question, shrug their shoulders and keep on with the activity they were engaged in, for how can one quantify ...
Views: 561 - Magic Beans - by Submitted on Jun 06, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldIf I knew how much I would enjoy purple beans, I would only have planted those to begin with. Besides being an attractive feature in the garden, they taste better and are not stringy at all, which is a blessing. Of course the purple color turns green in the pot, but that's beside the ...
Views: 621 - Magic Beans - by Submitted on May 08, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldIf I knew how much I would enjoy purple beans, I would only have planted those to begin with. Besides being an attractive feature in the garden, they taste better and are not stringy at all, which is a blessing. Of course the purple color turns green in the pot, but that's beside the ...
Views: 575 - Magic Beans - by Submitted on Aug 01, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldIf I knew how much I would enjoy purple beans, I would only have planted those to begin with. Besides being an attractive feature in the garden, they taste better and are not stringy at all, which is a blessing. Of course the purple color turns green in the pot, but that's beside the ...
Views: 605 - Magic Beans - by Submitted on May 21, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldI plant scarlet runner beans for their flowers - all the beauty of sweet peas with none of the high maintenance. Of course they are not fragrant, but nothing in this life is perfect. If you plant them as a crop, and during favorable years they do produce, don’t pick them green, you are not ...
Views: 558 - Magic Hour - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldToday I was out in the garden before dawn and I watched the crescent moon fade slowly into daylight as carpets of clouds moved very fast across the sky. Slowly the birds and the moths started to emerge from their nightly hideouts, eager to catch an early meal before the morning rush. The ...
Views: 554 - Maltese Cross - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldThere is something about this flower that fascinates me, I don't know why. I don't seem to be able to grow the classic four petaled variety that inspired the plant's name either, just the five petal one. It is one of those perennials you forget you planted, only to have them startle you in ...
Views: 474 - Maltese Cross - by Submitted on Jun 29, 2021 from Francis RosenfeldLegend has it that the Knights of Malta where so impressed with this plant, whose four petaled bright red flowers reminded them of their crest, that they brought it home when they returned from the crusades; it has been a cottage garden staple ever since. The plant has many names, some of ...
Views: 418 - Mauve des Bois - by Submitted on Sep 04, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldIf you were wondering what the color mauve looks like, exactly, it's the color of French mallows. We know that because this flower, mauve des bois, gave the color its name. The flower has many other names, the oddest of which is cheeseweed, inspired by the tightly packed configuration of its ...
Views: 581 - Meadow treasures - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2015 from Francis RosenfeldSpeaking of wonders of the plant world, how amazing is it that a Pennsylvania Smartweed, a plant that only thrives in boggy sites, decided to pick the drought summer of them all to beautify my garden. Graceful and delicate, it keeps good company to the broad leaved nicotiana that undoubtedly ...
Views: 585 - Medicinal foods - by Submitted on Apr 18, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldStinging nettles are quite amazing plants, full of qualities both medicinal and nutritional, but who cares when their blistering touch burns like judgment and brings you to tears? Setting aside the fact that in the old days people allowed themselves to be whipped with nettles as a folk remedy ...
Views: 588 - Medicinal Herbs - by Submitted on Dec 08, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldThe first time I saw an herb garden in a public park I asked myself what was the point of it? The fact that it occupied a small nook in the middle of the rose garden, at a time when all the roses were in bloom, didn’t help its cause very much. I know better now. Of course, I selected the ...
Views: 518 - Millefleur - by Submitted on Jul 15, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldEvery spring I plan on planting more annuals and every summer I fall short of the desired effect. At least this year I have an excuse: after clearing up the shrubbery from a large portion of the front yard, the design of a new perennial border became a priority. There seems to be a quiet ...
Views: 389 - Misconceptions about Spring Bulbs - by Submitted on Dec 29, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldAnd here I thought that crocuses didn’t like my garden! To be fair, I never tried the yellow ones before, but I also thought the lack of acidity in the soil didn’t agree with them. Apparently I was wrong. I’ll take the opportunity to clear up a few misconceptions about spring bulbs. Shade ...
Views: 526 - More About Jack in the Pulpit - by Submitted on Aug 07, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldI can’t get over how beautiful these flowers are, and am so happy and proud to have them in my garden. Their eerie hooded flowers, decorated with elegant stripes that make them look like custom wrapping paper are, indeed, the packaging, called the spathe. The inflorescence, which contains male ...
Views: 576 - More About Lemon Verbena - by Submitted on May 03, 2017 from Francis RosenfeldI know, when you think cooking herb, lemon verbena is not the first plant that comes to mind. A lot of people, especially here, up north, where it is not winter hardy, may not be familiar with this wonderful plant, so I'll do the honors. It has the fragrance and taste of lemon zest, with just ...
Views: 594 - Morning glory - by Submitted on Mar 21, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldI plant morning glory every year. Always in the same spot, always the same variety – Heavenly Blue. I forget about it after I plant it, it is slow to start in spring and its foliage gets lost in the jumble when the mid-summer growth takes over the flower beds. Come August, its growth ...
Views: 617 - Morning Glory - by Submitted on Sep 13, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldI plant morning glory every year. Always in the same spot, always the same variety - Heavenly Blue. I forget about it after I plant it, it is slow to start in spring and its foliage gets lost in the jumble when the mid-summer growth takes over the flower beds. Come August, its growth ...
Views: 548 - Morning Glory - by Submitted on Sep 01, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldI plant morning glory every year. Always in the same spot, always the same variety - Heavenly Blue. I forget about it after I plant it, it is slow to start in spring and its foliage gets lost in the jumble when the mid-summer growth takes over the flower beds. Come August, its growth ...
Views: 583 - Mushrooms - by Submitted on Oct 01, 2018 from Francis RosenfeldEveryone is familiar with this weird characteristic of mushrooms: they spring out of the ground overnight, fully grown, whenever they get a good rain and enough warmth to trigger their development. You go to sleep with a lawn and wake up to a mushroom hatchery. The good news is that mushrooms ...
Views: 627 - Mushrooms - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldEveryone is familiar with this weird characteristic of mushrooms: they spring out of the ground overnight, fully grown, whenever they get a good rain and enough warmth to trigger their development. You go to sleep with a lawn and wake up to a mushroom hatchery. The good news is that mushrooms ...
Views: 417 - Mushrooms - by Submitted on Sep 24, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldEveryone is familiar with this weird characteristic of mushrooms: they spring out of the ground overnight, fully grown, whenever they get a good rain and enough warmth to trigger their development. You go to sleep with a lawn and wake up to a mushroom hatchery. The good news is that mushrooms ...
Views: 431 - My Back Yard Beauty - by Submitted on Nov 24, 2020 from Francis RosenfeldMy beautiful is preparing for winter and there's not much I can do about it so I'm starting next year's planning early. There are never enough annuals or spring bulbs, so those are definitely on the list, especially for the new garden I started early this summer and which, with loving care, I ...
Views: 424 - Nature's Healers - by Submitted on May 23, 2021 from Francis RosenfeldLong before the dawn of chemistry herbs held the honor of providing people with a readily available pharmacological treasure, foraged and cataloged by natural healers. Herbs may not be able to cure severe illness, not in their natural form, anyway, but they have the answer to the smaller things ...
Views: 296 - Northern Light - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldAs we left the shore and I looked back at the beautiful, surreal landscape of Horseshoe Bay, it felt like all the worries and the cares of the world were also left behind to fade into the distance. The vast, placid waters worked their magic on me too, as they did on so many travelers throughout ...
Views: 430 - Northern Light - by Submitted on Dec 28, 2020 from Francis RosenfeldAs we left the shore and I looked back at the beautiful, surreal landscape of Horseshoe Bay, it felt like all the worries and the cares of the world were also left behind to fade into the distance. The vast, placid waters worked their magic on me too, as they did on so many travelers throughout ...
Views: 397 - Northern Orchids - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldI couldn’t imagine my garden without the toad lilies, whose blossoms are as close to approximating a tropical orchids as any cold weather plant is ever going to get. Don’t get deceived by their fragile look, they are hardy to zones four through nine and just like their cousins, the spring ...
Views: 427 - Northern Orchids - by Submitted on Nov 08, 2020 from Francis RosenfeldI couldn’t imagine my garden without the toad lilies, whose blossoms are as close to approximating a tropical orchids as any cold weather plant is ever going to get. Don’t get deceived by their fragile look, they are hardy to zones four through nine and just like their cousins, the spring ...
Views: 358 - November Rose - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2020 from Francis RosenfeldI was walking through the garden trying to assess what is left to do before winter descends upon us for good and I ran into a lovely surprise. My miniature rose decided to brave two killing frosts and a freezing rain and bloom in the middle of November. Contrary to popular belief roses are ...
Views: 469 - Old Bourbon Roses - by Submitted on Nov 21, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldThe quintessence of romantic imagery, the Bourbon rose! There is an unspoken consensus among rosarians that roses are the crowning glory of botanical creation. No other plant was capable of achieving this status and no one ever will, even though many classic perennials, such as peonies, ...
Views: 555 - Old Garden Roses - by Submitted on Jan 10, 2021 from Francis RosenfeldThe old garden roses are a proud tradition among rosarians, because they have a long history. These are the roses cultivated before the creation of the first modern hybrids - the gallicas, the damasks, the albas and the centifolias and the mosses. They have been immortalized in the ...
Views: 440 - Opal basil - by Submitted on Mar 15, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldSpeaking of purple plant pigments, the ones in opal basil are responsible for turning aromatic vinegar a beautiful shade of rose, I always look forward to preparing some during the summer. For all of us who enjoy this lovely herb it will come as a shock that the Greeks believed it to be ...
Views: 573 - Open Fields - by Submitted on Dec 01, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldThe familiar jumble of the cottage garden has evolved from a strange mix of prairie and woodland natives. I say strange because dame’s rocket and cone flowers require very different conditions and yet they happily coexist in the sunny border like they were meant to grow together. Their care ...
Views: 482 - Pampas Grass - by Submitted on Apr 25, 2016 from Francis RosenfeldI honestly can't warm up to this plant; I appreciate its warm and golden chenille panaches at the beginning of fall but loathe its unbelievably depressing wet hay appearance in spring. It looks pretty for exactly three days, right before the velvety seed heads open, and then it turns into fluff ...
Views: 571 - Perennial Borders - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2019 from Francis RosenfeldOne of the myths of gardening is that once you planted a perennial border it is set in stone and it will come back, year after year, exactly the same. That is not true at all, I look through pictures of my garden through the last few seasons and it is almost unrecognizable from one year to the ...
Views: 545 - Perennial Garden - by Submitted on Jan 19, 2021 from Francis RosenfeldTwo autumns ago I started a lot of perennials from divisions: irises, daisies, garden phlox, daylilies, and this is the year for them to start blooming. Of course, this fall I forgot to move the beautiful Pink Sorbet peony, which means it’s going to spend another spring trying to dig itself out ...
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