Crinum for the Fourth of July

In our fields and gardens, we have some crinum lily in flower from April first all through the summer all the way to mid November. A different lily for every month. In our book, Gardening With Crinum Lilies 3, there’s a nifty chart showing what flowers when. Always for the beginning of July, we have…

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Planting a Perennial Border for Hospice Cut Flowers

Linda has a cool story.  She’s cared for her parents, worked a lot and ready to retire.  But not ready to slow down.  So she bought a little farm house at the edge of booming suburbs and is planning a cut flower operation– specifically to give cut flowers to local hospice centers. She’s into nutrition,…

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A Good Excuse to Write

Why would a wildlife conservation magazine ask me to write for them?  I don’t get it either — kept thinking it was some sort of scam. “Could you write on how gardening soothes the restless soul?”, they asked.  Well that just struck a cord and I wrote a very person story.   It’s in their magazine,…

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Time to Cut Back

Good god at the weeds.  In my city garden, I compromised;  broke down and used some chemicals.   But on the lily farm, for two years now,  the crinum lily fields have been organic.  I just can’t taint the purity of my lilies. Really, I can’t stand the thought of the toxins settling in the dirt,…

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Breeders

I’m not a good breeder.  That requires a forsite and planning that my mind doesn’t do well.  So, my crinum selections are all happenstance and simply noticing something cool that’s happened in the field.   But I am a good gardener and part of being a good gardener is remember connections between plants and people. Sometimes…

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