Archive for the ‘Container garden’ Category

Shorter Version Of Six Landscape Shrubs

Sugar Shack™ Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis Sugar Shack™) – Full Sun (6+ hours), Part Sun (4-6 hours), Full Shade (up to 4 hours). 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. cut the size in half and added colorful red fruit and glossy foliage. Add in cool looking, fragrant white flowers and you’ve got a delightful plant […]

Three Cool Sedges (Carex)

Over the past decade Japanese Sedges (Carex spp.) have become popular in U.S. gardens. Uncertain which ones to plant – here are three that are easy to grow and require little maintenance. The following three clump-forming evergreen Japanese sedges flaunt arching, green and white variegated grass-like foliage. Tiny insignificant, brown flower spikes arise on long stems […]

Growing Cosmos

Cosmos are native to Mexico. In the U.S. these old-fashion annuals bloom throughout the summer months and attract birds, bees, and butterflies to your garden. They produce colorful 2- to 4-inch wide daisy-like flowers that sit atop 3-5 feet tall slender stems. Cosmos make excellent cut flowers and dwarf forms are ideal in containers. Annual cosmos […]

Ashe Magnolia

Ashe magnolia (Magnolia macrophylla subsp. Ashei) is a small 10-20 feet tree with enormous leaf and flower sizes (zone (5)6-9). Anindividual white flower measures 6- 12 inches across with a purple blotch at the base of 3 inner petal-like tepals. Ashe magnolia blooms in late May – early June in Tennessee. Many of the white […]

Elephant Ears In The Garden

If gardeners want to add some tropical punch to the garden, elephant ears (Colocasia esculenta) and a close botanical cousin (Alocasia) are one of the first plants that I recommend (USDA hardiness zones 7b-10). Also called ornamental taro, plants take off and grow rapidly after spring planting (when all threats of freeze injury have waned). […]

Mountain Laurels – A Native Shrub Many Gardeners Forget To Plant

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) is a U.S. native broadleaf evergreen shrub (USDA hardiness zone 5 – 7(8)). Whether you are hiking through area woodlands or driving through Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC, flowering mountain laurels dominate the May-June landscape in Northeast Tennessee or Western North Carolina.  Mature shrub sizes range from 5 feet (dwarf cultivars) […]

Planting A Tropical Look In Your Temperate Garden

This summer, whether you garden in Florida or Michigan, you can enjoy the tropical look in your garden with these 5 leafy plants, which are classified as “foliage annuals” because they are hardy in zones 10-12. Caricature Plant (Graptophyllum pictum) in its natural tropical habitat grows 6-9 feet tall, typically 4-5 feet tall in zone […]

Annuals To Plant In 2021

I spend spring, summer, and fall months visiting public gardens mostly in the eastern and southeast U.S. (Ohio/Pennsylvania south to Florida with camera in hand). I get ideas of new flowers to plant in my garden next year. Here are five flowering annuals that caught my attention. Begonia ‘Canary Wing’ – this golden leaf plant […]

ALL ABOUT ASTILBES

Astilbes, aka false spireas or false goat’s beard, brighten shady gardens with their colorful blooms in early summer. Their plume-like flowers stand tall above astilbe’s deep green lacy foliage. Flower colors vary from white, pinks, and reds, including lavender and violet. Flowers attract butterflies and other pollinators. Astilbes are generally planted in spring when the soil […]

Five Hardy Evergreen Ferns

In the southeastern U.S., ferns are important additions to shady perennial and woodland gardens. Ferns can be used as a ground cover to soften the hard edges of water features, rocks and paths, and make wonderful filler for mixed container plantings. Ferns do not flower or seed, but instead, reproduce by spores that usually form […]