A passionate affair of exciting and unusual plants Story and Photos by Richelle Stafne I love visiting other people’s gardens to see what they are growing. It’s especially fun when I find new and interesting plants, or plants that I had forgotten. Even in my own garden it brings joy to hear someone say, “Ooh, …
A gardener profile of Loy Moncrief Story and Photos by Nellie Neal Loy Moncrief gardens like he does everything else – with a deft combination of hard work and high purpose. Stewardship comes naturally to him and it shows in more than two decades of beautification efforts in Jackson and Hinds County. These days, Loy’s …
Story by David Longron Most bulbs send up shoots of green leaves in the spring, followed shortly by a flower or flower spikes. Apparently, resurrection lily didn’t get that memo. They do send up a cluster of leaves in the spring that die off in early summer like most others, but the flower spikes do …
A profile of Arkansas gardener Talya Tate Boerner Story and Photo by Joyce Mendenhall Talya Tate Boerner was born in Arkansas and raised on a cotton farm near the Mississippi riverport town of Osceola, a Main Street Arkansas Community. As the author of the book The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee, Talya relies on her …
The evolution of a Little Rock garden Story and Photos by Celia Roe Kristianna and John Pittenger, both retired educators and master gardeners, bought their home on a double corner lot in Little Rock’s Hillcrest area in 1975. The craftsman-style house, built in 1912, boasts large rooms and high ceilings. The exterior was built and …
Story by David Longron Angelonia is sometimes called summer snapdragon for its resemblance to snapdragons, as well as for its tolerance of Southern heat. It is a tender perennial, but used as an annual in temperate climates. A prolific bloomer, with proper care angelonia will bloom from May until first frost. The Serena series is …
This master gardener’s Arkansas roots run deep Story by Dwain Hebda Memphis-born Joellen Beard, president of Pulaski County Master Gardeners, can trace her love for the beauty of growing things all way back to her childhood. “My grandparents lived in St. Charles (Arkansas County),” she said. “I always loved Arkansas. We came in the summers and …
A gardener profile of Paul Pilkington Story and Photos by Dwain Hebda When asked about his favorite flower, Paul Pilkington of Little Rock paused to ponder the question. “You know those plants that you can buy, the 4-inch pots of flowers?” he replied. “Anything where I can watch that little thing spread out to a …
Story by David Longron A long-time favorite, clematis (usually pronounced kle-MATIS in the South, but actually, proper pronunciation is KLEM-atis) is a flowering vine that is sometime disparaged as “overused.” The reason that it is used so frequently is because few others can match its showy, sometimes up to 6 inches across, flowers that bloom …
Story and Photos by Yvonne Lelong Bordelon Giant Turk’s cap is the larger tropical cousin of the popular hummingbird and butterfly plant, Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus). The bright red, 2-inch flowers of giant Turk’s cap droop downward and never fully open. This multi-stemmed, low-maintenance tropical evergreen shrub is deer resistant and drought tolerant. Use it …
