Archive for the ‘Deer resistant’ Category

Summer Snowflakes (Leucojum)

Summer snowflakes originate from Europe and northern Africa and are carefree spring-blooming bulbs. They belong to the Amaryllis (Amaryllidaceae) botanical family and are critter proof. (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). Flowers and foliage are similar to snowdrops, but snowflakes grow twice as tall and bloom about 2-3 months later, usually just after most daffodils. Pure white, […]

Toad Lilies Shine In The Autumn Garden

Toad lilies (Tricyrtis spp.) are late season flowering perennials in the shade garden. Most summer perennials have finished blooming as their flower buds are just forming. They’re native to moist woodsy environs of eastern Asia and are botanical members of the lily (Liliaceae) family (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). When properly sited, toad lilies are long-lived […]

Harlequin Glorybower

Harlequin Glorybower (Clerodendron trichotomum) is a rambling 15-foot-tall rambling shrub which can be easily shaped into a multi-stemmed 10-to-20-foot small tree. Glorybower shines in the late summer and early fall landscape. Its sweetly scented, very showy flowers attract the attention of gardeners as well as hummingbirds and butterflies. (USDA hardiness zones 7-10). Where I garden in Northeast Tennessee […]

Surprise / Resurrection lilies

The beautiful colorful large flowers of Spider lilies (Lycoris spp.) pop up overnight in summer (July and August). In the Southeast and mid-Atlantic states, Spider lilies are popular passalong plants. They are known by a number of colloquial names such as “surprise lilies”, “resurrection lilies”, “hurricane lilies”, “Equinox Lily”, and “naked ladies”. They are members of […]

Celebrate Three New Summerific® Hibiscus Varieties

Summerific® is a trademarked series of Rose Mallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) from Walters Gardens Inc. in Zeeland, Michigan. It is a native perennial hibiscus that emerges from the soil in late spring and grows rapidly. Both their huge flowers and foliage are natural focal points in the summer garden. This long-lived perennial can be utilized as […]

Mimosa Tree – A Different Option

Over the hot spring and summer months, weedy Mimosa trees (Albizia julibrissin) stand beautiful along U.S roadsides. During the rest of the year, people pay very little attention to this arboreal Asian beauty that inhabit a vast area from Iran to China (USDA hardiness zones 6-9). YES, this tree can be invasive. Read on. From […]

Some Summer Perennials Reach New Heights

Celebrate this 4th of July with three giant flowering perennials: Giant coneflower, Joe Pye weed and Queen Of The Prairie Filpendula. Giant / Large coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima) is an herbaceous perennial that is grows in average, moist, well-drained soils in mostly full-day sun (USDA hardiness zones 4-9). Also called “Dumbo’s Ears”, it tolerates light shade, […]

‘Sun King’ Aralia Glows In the Summer Heat

Plants with golden foliage can brighten up almost any drab garden patch. Sun King golden aralia (Aralia cordata ‘Sun King’) is no exception, hardy in USDA hardiness zones 3-9. It is also known as Japanese spikenard and mountain asparagus. Under ideal conditions this thornless, rhizomatous, herbaceous perennial grows rapidly to 3-5 feet tall and as […]

Red Hot Pokers /Exceptional Summer Performers

Red-hot Pokers (Kniphofia spp.) are easy to grow long-lived perennials from South Africa. (USDA hardiness zones 5b-9). They go by a number of common names including torch lilies and tritoma. Colorful floral spikes (with a little imagination) resemble sizzling pokers or fiery torches, visited often by hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. Modern day cultivars are mostly […]

Perennial Salvias Getting Better

Perennial salvias (Salvia × sylvestris) represent a number of hybrid crosses between S. nemorosa and S. pratensis but may include S. × alpestris, S. × asperula, S. × collina, and S. × superba. Most cultivars are branched, upright, clump-forming, perennials with opposite, oblong to lanceolate, medium green leaves and showy spikes of tiny, tubular, two-lipped flowers (each to 1/2” long). Flower color choices range from blue to lavender to purple, depending […]