Focus on Flowers Podcast
1) Spring Ephemerals
Before long now, some of the earliest flowers to bloom will be stirring in our gardens. Â Many of them are ephemeral, a descriptor that means âshort livedâ or transitory. In garden-speak, this means ...Show More
2) Interesting Quotes
In 1785 William Cowper wrote: Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.  Unconscious of a less propitious clime  There blooms exotic beauty, warm and snug  While winds whistle and the snows descend...Show More
3) Twelfth Night
During the middle ages, the Christmas season lasted for 12 days and reached a climax on Jan 6, which is called Twelfth Night.  We often wait, nowadays, until Twelfth Night to take down the Christmas...Show More
4) Norah Lindsay
Norah Lindsay (1866-1948) lived in the Manor House at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire, England. She was admired for the way that she combined herbaceous perennials in borders, which were so popular du...Show More
5) Year's End
Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a poem about the garden at the end of the year. This seems to be an appropriate time to share it with you.  A spirit haunts the yearâs last hours  Dwelling amid these yell...Show More
6) Winter Musings
Oscar Wilde in The Selfish Giant wrote the following words:  âHe did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.â  And Anne Bradst...Show More
7) Mistletoe
The English colonists in Virginia used mistletoe to decorate their homes and their churches during the Christmas season. Mistletoes are evergreen parasitic plants with small leaves, yellowish flowers ...Show More
8) The Winter Solstice
The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which for example, in the year 2023 occurs on December 21. For the northern part of the Earth, the winter solstice ...Show More
9) Winter Words of Wisdom
This winter I have been reading some garden writerâs words of wisdom, which now I will share with you. In 1899, Gertrude Jekyll wrote: âFor I hold it that the best purpose of a garden is to give d...Show More
10) Jewel Orchids as House Plants
Many tropical plants, and also some temperate zone plants that resemble tropicals, make excellent house plants in cold climates. One fairly easy to grow but underused example is the South East Asian...Show More