Growing Under The Sun: A Botanical Expedition

 Daffodils for Woodland Planting A Narcissus 'Slim Whitman ' bulb waiting to be planted amongest its neighbors     This planting is what I refer to as the drainage point. It is a narrow bed hidden near my greenhouse, that acts like the name says as a drainage point for the rest of the garden due to the overall slope of the land. In the near future it will be home to several unique woodland plants, however even with them, it is lacking in one thing and that is spring interest. To combat this lack of early spring color I have planted two daffodil cultivars. Usually it is recommended that for this kind of planting, small flowered daffodils would be best. The two I have selected are larger flowered hybrids and there is reason to what some may consider heresy. This small planting is right next to a future cut flower garden, a garden that will be exuberant in bloom in comparison to the more dab greens that this planting will consists of. As such the daffodils are a spill ...

      Recently the usage of grasses has become very fashionable. However there are several grass like plants that are just as desirable as the true grasses. One such genus is Carex a genus that can be found worldwide often inhabiting forested areas to moist grasslands  consisting of  more than 2,000 species. Many species are tolerant of conditions that the majority of true grasses prefer not to inhabit. such deep shade and moist to outright aquatic environments.The genus Carex thus lends its hands to those areas that we wish we could have grasses but we know that they would otherwise fail.     That being said it would be hard pressed to believe that Carex would thrive in El Paso, but the truth is they do. The majority of the Carex I currently grow are in shaded woodland plantings. Here they provide form and texture that was otherwise lacking in planting that consists mostly of large leaved plants.It's important to provide contrast in a planting as thi...