More Garden Letters:
May 2004: Garden Letters from Readers
June 2003: Garden Letters from Readers
May 2003: Garden Letters from Readers
July 2003: Garden Letters from Readers
 



Cottage Living

Cottage Blooms
If you live in zones 2-7, life is too short not to have peonies.


 
June 2004: Garden Letters from Readers
Browse gardening questions from our readers.
By Steve Bender / Photograph by Allen Rokach

Editor's Notebook

When I was a kid, my mother fixed me scrambled eggs for breakfast almost daily for years. Now, decades later, I can't stand scrambled eggs. This just goes to show how important variety is in all things, including gardening. As long as I can remember, people who wanted blooms for shade have depended on impatiens. They're great flowers but don't come in blue. After a decade or so of planting the same thing, you ought to try something new. I have just the thing--a summer annual called wishbone flower (Torenia fournieri). This plant loves the heat. From spring until fall, it's smothered with flowers in blue, purple, rose, pink, or white. Wishbone flower does great in borders, pots, and window boxes--just keep the soil moist. Duchess excels in shade, while the trailing Summer Wave Hybrids like partial sun or shade. If you'll give them a try this summer, I'll vow to give scrambled eggs another chance.

Q:
I recently planted some mondo grass, and the tips of the leaves are turning yellow. I water it with a soaker hose every two to three days for 30 to 40 minutes. What is causing the problem?

Jeff Eddings
Collinsville, Oklahoma

A:
If mondo grass is planted in sun, it is subject to sunburn, and you'll have to move it. Another possible cause of trouble is mucky soil. Mondo grass likes well-drained soil. If these aren't the problems, try feeding the plant with a water-soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer every couple of weeks until it has a nice green color.

1 | 2 | 3
Advertisement