Inkberry holly (Ilex glabra), also called gallberry, is a slow-growing broadleaf evergreen shrub (USDA hardiness zones 4-9). Inkberry grows 5 to 8 feet tall. In the wild, it spreads in the ground via root suckers to form colonies. The species is native from coastal Canada to Florida, west to Louisiana at home in sandy woodlands and […]
Archive for the ‘Spring flowering’ Category
Choices Of Inkberry Hollies
Posted by Hugh on September 1st, 2020
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bees and other pollinators, compact shrub, Container growing, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Evergreen, Hedges, Ilex (hollies), Inkberry Holly (Ilex), Landscape ideas, Mites, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Privacy Screen, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Root suckering, Soil drainage, Soil pH, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness 
Comments Off on Choices Of Inkberry HolliesMarginal Plants For Wet Areas
Posted by Hugh on August 16th, 2020
Most perennials demand well-drained soil. They perform poorly or die out when in ground that is constantly wet and soggy. However, a small number of perennials tolerate and even thrive in moist soils. Most plants listed here are all hardy within zones 5-8, and grow best in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil. Most are okay getting their feet (roots and crown) wet for […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Baneberry (Actaea), Bayberry (Myrica), Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Bin bluestem (Andropogon), Birch (Betula spp.), Brunnera 'Jack Frost', Butterflies, Calamagrostis, Canna lily, Carex (Sedges), Container garden, Cornus sanguinea, Cornus sericea, Dawn redwood (Metasequoia), Deciduous, Eupatorium 'Gateway', Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate', Farfugium, Ferns, Filipendula, Ground cover, Hakone grass, Hardy begonia (B. grandis), Hellebores, Hibiscus coccineus, Hibiscus moscheutos, Hosta, Hummingbird, Hydrangea arborescens, Ilex (hollies), Iris, Kerria, Landscape ideas, Lobelia (cardnial flower), Magnolia virginiana, Maidenhair fern (Adiantum), Milkweeds (Asclepias), Muhly grass, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Nepeta (catmint), Northern sea oats (Chasmanthium), Obedient plant (Physotegia), Ornamental Grasses, Papyrus, Perennials, Planting tips, Purchasing Plants, river birch, Rodgersia, Sedges (Carex), Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Summersweet (Clethra), Switchgrass (Panicum), Toadlily (Tricyrtis), Tradescantia (Spiderwort), Trees & Shrubs, Virginia sweetspire, watering tips, Weigela, Winterberry holly Comments Off on Marginal Plants For Wet AreasFavorite Native Shrub Pollinators
Posted by Hugh on July 21st, 2020
These eight (8) shrubs amaze me by the numbers of bees and other pollinators that their flowers attract when blooming. Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is an erect, rounded, broad-spreading, deciduous shrub with arching branches. Itea grows 3-4 feet (less frequently to 5 feet) tall with similar spread. Fragrant, tiny white flowers borne in cylindrical, drooping racemes […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Autumn foliage color, Autumn Fruiting, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Blue mist (Caryopteris), Bottlebrush buckeye, Chokeberry (Aronia), Container garden, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Drought tolerant, Elderberry (Sambucus), Environmental issues, Fertilizing plants, Fothergilla, Landscape ideas, Large shrub, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Propagation (layering), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Summersweet (Clethra), Trees & Shrubs, Virginia sweetspire, Wildlife attractant, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness, Witchhazel (Hamamelis) Comments Off on Favorite Native Shrub PollinatorsBeebalm (Monarda) Varieties Attract Hummingbirds, Butterflies And Moths
Posted by Hugh on July 16th, 2020
In 2016 Mt. Cuba Center in Greenville DE enlisted a team of trained volunteers to monitor the visitation of hummingbirds, moths, and butterflies in the 40 cultivar beebalm (Monarda) trial. Their goal was to systematically observe and note the cultivars that were most frequently visited by these pollinators. Below is a listing of the five […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, compost, Container garden, deadheading, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Downy mildew, Flower arrangments, Heat Tolerance, Hummingbird, Landscape ideas, Monarda (Beebalm), mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Powdery mildew, Purchasing Plants, Re-Bloomers, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering Comments Off on Beebalm (Monarda) Varieties Attract Hummingbirds, Butterflies And MothsIndian Pinks Generate Garden Fireworks
Posted by Hugh on July 11th, 2020
Indian Pinks Generate Garden Fireworks Indian pink (Spigelia marilandica) is a strikingly beautiful native wildflower native to the Southern Appalachian region. However, this perennial grows well in most parts of the country (Zones (5b)6-9). Plants emerge quite late in the spring. Sometime in June, depending on locality, their bright red tubular flowers flare open, crowned […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, Container garden, deadheading, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Hummingbird, Indian pink (Spigelia), Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Indian Pinks Generate Garden FireworksFour Landscape Shrubs That Are Early Summer Stars
Posted by Hugh on June 16th, 2020
Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) is one of our finest early summer native flowering shrubs for sun or shady sites. It is a dense, mounded, suckering, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub which grows 6-12 feet tall and 15-18 feet spread. It flaunts unique palmate green leaves (5-7 leaflets) and white 10-12 inch tall floral candles. The dynamic bottlebrush […]
Posted in acidic soil, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Bottlebrush buckeye, Butterflies, Buttonbush (Cephalanthus), compact shrub, Container growing, container shrub, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flowering shrub, Heat Tolerance, Hummingbird, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Root suckering, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Summersweet (Clethra), Trees & Shrubs, Vitex (Chaste tree), Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Four Landscape Shrubs That Are Early Summer StarsSix Easy Perennials To Grow
Posted by Hugh on June 1st, 2020
Rozanne (‘Gerwalt’) Cranesbill (Geranium X ‘Rozanne’) – low growing flowering groundcover that forms a 20 inch tall by 24 inch wide mound; blooms almost non-stop from mid-spring to early fall. For a cranesbill, its 5-petaled, violet-blue flowers are huge (2.5 inches wide) with off-white centers; in bloom from late spring to early summer. (Zones 5-8). […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Alliums (onion), Aster, Attracting Butterflies, Autumn flowering, Bees and other pollinators, Container garden, Cranesbill (Geranium), Deciduous, Drought tolerant, Evergreen, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Flower arrangments, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Platycodon (Balloon flower), Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (dividing), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Sage (Salvia), Sedum (Groundcover types), Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Six Easy Perennials To GrowCalibrachoas (Million Bells*)
Posted by Hugh on May 16th, 2020
Gardeners have discovered Million Bells* (Calibrachoa x hybrida), a small flowering cousin of the petunia. Million Bells are prolific bloomers and produce one-inch mini-blossoms. They were first marketed to home gardeners in the 1990’s. They’re native to Peru, Brazil, and Chile, and are commonly grown as annuals in the U.S. Over the past twenty years […]
Posted in acidic soil, Annuals, Autumn flowering, Bees and other pollinators, Calibrachoa (Million bells), Chlorosis (yellowing), compost, Container garden, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Flower arrangments, Hummingbird, Landscape ideas, mulching, Planting tips, Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Calibrachoas (Million Bells*)Golden Chain Tree
Posted by Hugh on May 1st, 2020
Golden Chain Tree (Laburnum anagyroides) is a small deciduous tree or large shrub. This small landscape tree is a member of the Bean Family (Fabaceae) and is native to central Europe (USDA hardiness zones 5 to 7). It is rated as a short-lived tree that grows to 25 or 30 feet in height as a […]
Posted in acidic soil, alkaline soil, Aphids, Balled and Burlapped (b&b), Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Deciduous, Disease prone, Drought tolerant, Fruits poisonous, Golden Chain Tree (Laburnum), Landscape ideas, mulching, Planting tips, Poisonous or toxic, Propagation(grafting), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Small landscape tree, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Staking, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, winter hardiness Comments Off on Golden Chain TreeNew Weigelas Keep Coming
Posted by Hugh on April 16th, 2020
Native to Japan, Korea, and China, flowering weigelas (Weigela florida) are reliable old-fashioned shrubs bearing pink or rose colored blooms in mid-spring. This deciduous shrub has an arching branch habit. New weigelas are now appearing at local garden centers. Older cultivars, typically 6 to 9 feet in height, are being replaced with compact 2 – 5 feet […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Butterflies, compact shrub, Container garden, Container growing, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Fertilizing plants, Hummingbird, Landscape ideas, mulching, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Re-Bloomers, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Weigela, winter hardiness Comments Off on New Weigelas Keep Coming
