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Articles by Francis Rosenfeld

Browse published articles attributed to Francis Rosenfeld, with full-archive search.

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By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Sunshine and Heliotrope

I’m sitting on the balcony staring at my purple cherry pie plant, which looks happy as a clam basking in the sunshine in the company of butter yellow petunias. I don’t know why I haven’t tried heliotrope before, it’s an old fashioned cottage garden favorite and mine is a cottage garden. Some people describe its fragrance as a combination of cherry pie, hence the name, and vanilla, others say it smells more like grape soda; in my opinion it’s closer to licorice.

Primary topic: Gardening

512 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Ground Floors

They are tiny, understated and barely a few inches above the ground, but don’t mistake their simple demeanor for meekness, they will take charge of a full area if left to their own devices: crawlers, ramblers and ground covers have the most aggressive spreading habits of the whole plant world. Everybody who has grown bugle weed, lily turf, creeping Jenny or periwinkles knows what I’m talking about.r

Primary topic: Gardening

510 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

And More Perennial Gardens

One 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 next. Just because a plant is labeled perennial it doesn’t mean it will be there forever. Some, like delphiniums and columbines, only live four or five years, even in ideal conditions, while others, like hostas, garden phlox, hellebores and cone flowers will be with you for decades.

Primary topic: Gardening

509 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

My Back Yard Beauty

My 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 garde I started early this summer and which, with loving care, I hope will mature into a carpet of bloom.

Primary topic: Gardening

509 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Winterizing

The winter arrived, somewhat tentative but for good. Yesterday it snowed with the large and fluffy kind of flakes which form when the air is still warm. At least the garden is ready: the flower beds are mostly cleared of leaves, the bulbs are in the ground, the trellisses and the pots are cleaned and stored. Believe it or not, if the spirit moves you to spend time in the garden despite the cold, you might still find some stuff to do. Winterize Empty and store water hoses, mulch the perennials to give them some extra warmth during winter.

Primary topic: Gardening

508 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Gardening Superstitions

When you grow up around gardening activities you're sure to internalize a few old wives tales. Some of them are backed up by science, but most are just taken on faith and passed along from one generation to the next without any reason or explanation. Here are a few. If you want a plant cutting to root successfully and thrive, especially if it is a rose, you have to steal it.r

Primary topic: Gardening

507 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

A Celebration of the Sun

There are many traditions, myths and folk tales associated with the summer solstice, many of which involve the herbs and plants that bloom around this time and whose medicinal and aromatic properties are said to be enhanced when gathered on the eve or morning of the solstice.

Primary topic: Gardening

503 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Geotropism

Geotropism is an incredibly sophisticated method through which a plant manages to use the same process to make its stems grow up and its roots reach down. If a plant is growing horizontally, instead of vertically, a plant hormone called auxin, which serves to inhibit cellular growth, sinks to the underside of the roots and stems in response to the gravity pull.

Primary topic: Gardening

502 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Quince Jelly

All fruits are suitable for preserves, especially if they come in vibrant colors, but some, like apples, quinces, pears, plums and grapes, are naturally high in pectin and will gel beautifully without additives. Jellies must be firm and transparent like colored glass, in brilliant jewel tones, with no cloudiness or leftover bits of fruit. Quince jelly, a delicacy of the northern countries (quince trees don't thrive in warm climates), is the gold standard for this sugary confection.

Primary topic: Gardening

501 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Early Spring Border

The area I’m really looking forward to this year is the herb garden. I must have just the perfect soil for herbs, because they’re thriving, every one I planted doubled in size. The herb patch concept started as a wheel, but the space allocated has the wrong shape, so it follows the wild and unruly personality of my garden instead and has no definite contours. It sometimes spills into the lawn, but more often than not grass grows into it, to my great chagrin. I’m fastidious about keeping it free of intruders, nobody wants crabgrass in the turkey stuffing.

Primary topic: Gardening

500 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Garden in Bloom

The one good thing about a cold spring is that the tree bloom lasts long enough to enjoy. The cherries, the dogwoods and the early magnolias covered the whole landscape in pink and white veils for over two weeks, it's very poetic.

Primary topic: Gardening

498 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Care Free Bloom

No matter how passionate you are about gardening, there comes a moment when you just want to plant your flower bed and forget it, at least forget about having to tend to it constantly; rest assured there are many plants, both annual and perennials, that would take care of themselves without a lot of fuss. I resisted them, of course, out of a mistaken sense of pride: once you breached the domain of sedums, daylilies, coneflowers and Russian sage, you have become basically unnecessary. Of course I can’t grow the last plant on the list to save my life, but that’s beside the point.

Primary topic: Gardening

497 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Charming Tangle

If you want a real cottage garden, don’t tame it, it is supposed to be wild, messy and overgrown, sort of jumbled together without too much focus on height hierarchy and perfect color schemes. Many of its traditional plants are tall, broad and thick and spill over railings, fences, trellises and retaining walls with reckless abandon. Hollyhocks, giant delphiniums, bell flowers, lupines and snakeroot can and frequently do grow taller than six feet.

Primary topic: Gardening

497 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Season's End

One of the perks of keeping a garden is stumbling upon little joyful moments when time stands still and life flows softly through, peaceful and unhurried. Time slows down so we have enough of it to notice how bright the sunlight looks, reflected in the gold and orange leaves of the maple trees, how the long clouds cross each other in the periwinkle sky, how contours lose their sharpness and how a bronze hue underlies the colors; subtle changes, slow changes, not tethered to our speed at all.

Primary topic: Gardening

497 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Delightful Aromatics

Aromatics come in two flavors: kitchen herbs and medicinals. A few herbs cross over from one category to the other, rosemary and lavender would be good examples of that, although using lavender for cooking is a bit of an acquired taste. Almost everybody has grown kitchen herbs on a sunny kitchen sill or in a pot on the patio at some point: parsley and dill, oregano and marjoram,tarragon and chives, basil and sage.

Primary topic: Gardening

497 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Daffodil Gardens

I’ve only seen daffodil gardens in public parks and plant conservatories, gardeners usually grow these lovely spring bulbs in mixed borders, where their fading foliage can be concealed by the fresh growth of the summer perennials after they are done blooming.

Primary topic: Gardening

493 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Sun Exposure

Even though the three basic sun exposures are full sun, part sun and shade, the latter comes in so many variations, all with their own little quirks, that it deserves a full chapter all to itself.

Primary topic: Gardening

492 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Northern Orchids

I 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 bulbs, require minimal care. Their flowers show up very late, often after the garden is already covered in a thick layer of fallen leaves.

Primary topic: Gardening

490 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Sweet Alabama

Even a few climate zones change the landscape completely. The gardener finds himself surrounded by a different world of flowers unknown and enduring greenery. Despite the temporary chill the flora of Alabama maintained its subtropical resilience, attuned to the fact that temperatures close to freezing are fleeting, but zone 9 is forever.

Primary topic: Gardening

490 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Garden in Winter

The winter garden is a haven for the little creatures of the land; it provides them with shelter, food and cozy nooks to hibe ate. The gardener can lend a hand, goodness knows the wildlife can use all the help it can get during the coldest days of the year. Add bird feeders to your backyard and you'll be greatly rewarded by the flock of colorful birds that gather near them on snowy days: finches, cardinals, chickadees, blue jays, titmice and sparrows. Hang up a few suet cakes too, your backyard visitors need the fat calories to keep warm.

Primary topic: Gardening

490 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

For the Love of Athena

I don’t think the goal of traveling is to see places and learn things, often you get better images and information from photography catalogs and travel guides. The goal of traveling is to get immersed in the spirit of a place. The longer you stay in Greece, the more it becomes clear to you why this mountainous peninsula swept by winds witnessed the birth of modern civilization. There is a sense which permeates everything that the people of this culture are afraid of nothing, curious about everything and always eager to try something new.

Primary topic: Gardening

486 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Northern Light

As 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 the centuries. The Pacific draws you in with the irresistible pull of its enormous mass, and makes you feel small and irreplaceable at the same time; its essence breathes peace into your very soul.

Primary topic: Gardening

486 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Mushrooms

Everyone is familiar with this weird characteristic of mushrooms: they spring out of the ground ove ight, 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.

Primary topic: Gardening

485 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Northern Light

As 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 the centuries. The Pacific draws you in with the irresistible pull of its enormous mass, and makes you feel small and irreplaceable at the same time; its essence breathes peace into your very soul.

Primary topic: Gardening

485 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Fullness of Summer

A rose garden at the height of summer is a breathtaking sight. At this time the June roses haven't faded yet and all the repeat bloomers start their flowering season.r

Primary topic: Gardening

484 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Wild Roses

The wild roses, the species and the rugosas, are what comes to mind when you think rose hips. Their fruits are large, in bright hues of red and bright orange, and their thorny shrubs provide them in abundance. The best known species variety is the dog rose, an ancestor of the old garden roses, still used today as understock for grafting modern varieties because of its vigor and disease resistance. Another, more poetic variety is the Eglantine, with pink flowers and apple scented foliage.

Primary topic: Gardening

484 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Cold Front

The winter arrived, somewhat tentative but for good. Yesterday it snowed with the large and fluffy kind of flakes which form when the air is still warm. At least the garden is ready: the flower beds are mostly cleared of leaves, the bulbs are in the ground, the trellisses and the pots are cleaned and stored. Believe it or not, if the spirit moves you to spend time in the garden despite the cold, you might still find some stuff to do. Winterize Empty and store water hoses, mulch the perennials to give them some extra warmth during winter.

Primary topic: Gardening

480 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Happy Go Lucky

Some plants find their way into your heart just because they look so cheerful and innocent. Who doesn't love daisies? They are the embodiment of simple and wholesome, like milk, child giggles or sunshine. The fact that they are easy going and thrive with a minimum of care doesn't hurt either.

Primary topic: Gardening

479 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Garden on the Window Sill

With not even half of the winter behind me I have no choice but to concentrate on the miniature garden on the window sill. Fortunately for me, the indoor plants are generous with their flowers. The African violets, the lovely ruffled cyclamens, the amaryllis, the dark begonia, even the Christmas cactus have started to bloom again.

Primary topic: Gardening

478 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Skin Pampering

There is nothing like a gentle facial to cleanse the skin and make it glow and there are plenty of ingredients in the kitchen cupboards for a nourishing face mask. Let’s go over a few classics. Honey - it works by itself as a gentle exfoliator or it can be mixed with other ingredients like quick oats, cream or lemon juice for a moisturizing or astringent treatment, depending on your skin type. Strong chamomile or lavender decocts are classics for facial steam treatments and getting rid of blackheads.

Primary topic: Gardening

477 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Climbers and Ramblers

Climbers and ramblers are nature's gift to the land-locked gardener. I don't think there is anything cozier and more delightful than a little corner filled with greenery and flowers tucked away from the world, sheltered between walls covered in rose bunches or hiding behind an old arbor trailed by fragrant vines. There is a hint of enticing wilde ess in this landscape brimming with color and scent, which takes you by surprise and enchants you.

Primary topic: Gardening

476 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Veggies to Start Outdoors

Some plants don’t benefit from being started indoors. There are a few reasons for this: their tender foliage has a hard time adjusting to the change of environment, their roots dislike being disturbed or their growth schedule is so accelerated that they outgrow their starting containers too soon. Here are the classics. Cucumbers, melons and squashes. Not only they have to be planted directly outside, but the nets have to be in place and ready for their fast growing foliage and heavy fruit. They like being planted in nests, four or five seeds at the time, not alone.

Primary topic: Gardening

475 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Charming Tangle

If you want a real cottage garden, don’t tame it, it is supposed to be wild, messy and overgrown, sort of jumbled together without too much focus on height hierarchy and perfect color schemes. Many of its traditional plants are tall, broad and thick and spill over railings, fences, trellises and retaining walls with reckless abandon. Hollyhocks, giant delphiniums, bell flowers, lupines and snakeroot can and frequently do grow taller than six feet.

Primary topic: Gardening

472 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Autumn Favorites

The stonecrops are ghostly pale this fall and I'm not used to seeing them like that, normally they turn up rosy hues as soon as the middle of August; it must be the rain, they didn't have enough sunshine to start ripening. Despite the wet weather the fall bloomers are right on time - the prolific plumbago, the delicate morning glory, the tall grasses, the plush panaches of goldenrod.

Primary topic: Gardening

471 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Vegetable Flowers

When I first started growing vegetables, I worried the veggie plot would look too utilitarian, with its lined up rows and its pedestrian supports. Imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning to a tapestry of egg yolk colored trumpets, larger than my hand, which gleamed in the morning sunlight like a sea of smiles. I don’t like squash that much, but I wouldn’t miss out on its blossoms. So, who are the beauties of the vegetable garden?

Primary topic: Gardening

471 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Growing Tomato Plants

Tomato plants are tough, their germination rate is spectacular and they will survive anywhere, but getting them to produce requires the right conditions and a little work. First, they need cultivated soil, slightly acidic, that contains a fair amount of organic fertilizer and they have to be watered generously, sometimes twice a day if the weather is hot, especially if they grow in containers. Try to water them at the base to discourage black spot. If they don't get full sun they won't produce at all. I know. I tried.

Primary topic: Gardening

470 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Mushrooms

Everyone is familiar with this weird characteristic of mushrooms: they spring out of the ground ove ight, 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.

Primary topic: Gardening

470 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Damask Roses

If you only have one rose in your garden, it should be a Damask. Another notable descendant of the old cabbage rose, the Damask is the complete package: exquisite fragrance, spectacular flowers, perpetual bloom, well-behaved growth habit and disease resistance. Whenever fragrance is described as a pure rose scent, it refers to the smell of the damasks, which is sultry and saturated and has hints of garden pinks and cloves. Theirs is the variety used to make the coveted attar of roses.

Primary topic: Gardening

469 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Container Garden Companions

Finding good companion planting is even more important when the plants are stuck together in a container. I watched the denizens of assorted pots fight for dominance many a time and more often than not one species brazenly asserts its rights over the sun, water and nutrients and ends up owning the planter by the end of the summer. If you don’t want to end up with a monoculture, here are a few compatible flower combinations.

Primary topic: Gardening

466 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

How to Prune Roses

There 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 starting them bare root, they need to be planted sometimes mid-March, depending on your location. For the existing ones wait until forsythia blooms and prune them as follows.

Primary topic: Gardening

466 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Moon Garden

Ok, I know everybody is busy and strolling through your garden at night is not the first thing that comes to mind at the end of the day, but if the spirit moves you to create one, a moon garden can be just as lovely as a bright patch of colorful flowers in the sunlight. As is the case with shade gardens, white flowers perform best in the subdued light of the moon, which casts a silver glow over light colored blossoms and foliage. Even better, find white flowers that bloom at night, fragrant one, if possible, like nicotiana, tuberose, evening stock, primrose and moon flower.

Primary topic: Gardening

460 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Garden That Keeps on Giving

If you have established perennials, they are a readily available source of new plants for your garden.

Primary topic: Gardening

459 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Spring Care for Roses

Both of the rose cuttings I started last fall have rooted, judging by the new growth, but I’m not taking the jars off of them until the weather turns really warm. The roses are usually the first to get attention in my garden, before the spring cleaning or tending to the grass, so let’s talk a little about spring rose care.

Primary topic: Gardening

456 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Sweet Violets

Every summer I plan to thin the violets and every summer I change my mind at the last minute, and this picture is the reason why. How can I pull these delicate flowers that cover the earth in spring in every shade of blue between aqua and indigo?

Primary topic: Gardening

455 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Dividing Herbaceous Perennials

Most herbaceous perennials can be propagated by division: dig up the clump, tease it apart into several sections, making sure they all get a reasonable share of the roots, and replant them. Some root systems are really hard and gnarly, but plants are resilient; you can use a fork or a shovel to pry them apart if you need to, they won't mind. Plant the divisions immediately to avoid transplant stress and water them generously. This helps the plants settle into their new locations and ensures there are no air pockets around their roots.

Primary topic: Gardening

453 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

How Do Deciduous Trees Go Through Winter

First chlorophyll breaks down and gets reabsorbed, allowing the other pigments to lend their colors to the foliage and turn it copper, red, yellow and orange. The tree sends a chemical called abscisic acid to the terminal buds, which shut down the flow of sap to the leaves, signaling them to break off the branches. After the leaves have fallen, the tree enters dormancy, a period during which it ceases growth, slows down its metabolism and lives off the energy stored in its roots as starch.

Primary topic: Gardening

452 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

The Delightful Aromatics

Aromatics come in two flavors: kitchen herbs and medicinals. A few herbs cross over from one category to the other, rosemary and lavender would be good examples of that, although using lavender for cooking is a bit of an acquired taste. Almost everybody has grown kitchen herbs on a sunny kitchen sill or in a pot on the patio at some point: parsley and dill, oregano and marjoram,tarragon and chives, basil and sage.

Primary topic: Gardening

451 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Weather Musings

I read last year's entry entry for this week and got reminded of how remarkably consistent the weather and garden patterns are: the first snow, the January cold streak, the first bloom. They follow nature's implicit schedule almost to the day. It just dawned on me that I could read up a few weeks in advance and have a fair idea what the weather is going to be like.

Primary topic: Gardening

449 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Companion Gardening - Planters

Finding good companion planting is even more important when the plants are stuck together in a container. I watched the denizens of assorted pots fight for dominance many a time and more often than not one species brazenly asserts its rights over the sun, water and nutrients and ends up owning the planter by the end of the summer. If you don’t want to end up with a monoculture, here are a few compatible flower combinations.

Primary topic: Gardening

448 views

By Francis RosenfeldRecently published1 topic

Millefleur

Every 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 understanding among the plants that every year a precious few will get to shine while the others considerately fade into the background. It's not something you learn from gardening books, the garden teaches the gardener a thing or two over the years.

Primary topic: Gardening

448 views

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