Archive for the ‘Attracting birds’ Category

Long Blooming Tennessee Coneflower

                  Dependable Tennessee coneflowers (Echinacea tennesseensis) bloom almost all summer (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). That’s three months long. Plants are covered with pale pink, flat ray flowers; blooms measure 2 to 3 inch across with greenish-brown centers or cones. It is a great addition to hot dry sites, […]

‘Short and Sassy’ Helenium (Sneezeweed)

Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) is a bee/butterfly friendly perennial that blooms heavily from mid-summer into early fall. Helenium (“sneezeweed”) does not cause hayfever or irritate sinus passages. The genus Helenium is named for Helen of Troy. Its dried leaves were once crunched to make a snuff to promote sneezing. This tough prairie native thrives in full […]

Cosmos For Sunny Gardens

Cosmos, indigenous to Mexico and South America, are one of the easiest-to-grow flowering annuals. They start blooming in early summer and are at their best in late summer and early autumn. Two most popular species are Cosmos sulphureus and C. bipinnatus. Flower heads are composed of disc and ray flowers. Cosmos is a member of the aster […]

Siebold Viburnum Makes Wonderful Small Tree

                The genus Viburnum is no stranger to U.S. gardens. Many species and cultivars of viburnums are popular. Siebold viburnum (V. sieboldii) is a large spring flowering species from eastern Asia  (USDA hardiness zones 5-7), but is under-planted in today’s gardens. This multi-trunk large shrub to 12 to 15 feet high or 25 […]

New ‘Pam’s Mountain Bouquet’ Kousa Dogwood

  ‘Pam’s Mountain Bouquet’ is a new Chinese dogwood (Cornus kousa) cultivar from the plant scientists from the University of Tennessee Dogwood Working Team (USDA hardiness zones 5-8). Mountain Bouquet is a near-white flowering form whose petal-like bracts fuse into near perfect squares. The cultivar blooms slightly later than other flowering dogwoods, helping to extend dogwood’s […]

‘Cherokee Brave’– Outstanding “Red” Flowering Dogwood

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is the most beautiful of U.S. native flowering trees (USDA hardiness zones 5 to 9). It typically grows 15-30 feet tall, but larger forms are known. The tree is broadly-pyramidal at a young age, branching is low, and matures with a rounded canopy. Spring bloom time usually overlaps with redbud (Cercis […]

Spicebush – The Native Plant And The Butterfly

  U.S. native spicebush (Lindera benzoin) is a beautiful landscape plant (USDA hardiness zones 4-9) for an open or woodland garden. Spicebush matures into a 12-15 feet tall and wide large shrub or small tree over many years. Light green deciduous leaves, 3 to 5 inches long, are delightfully fragrant when-crushed. Leaves is the preferred food for the […]

Winter Blooming Flowering Apricot

Flowering apricot (Prunus mume) is native to southeastern Asia(USDA hardiness zones 6-8). It is primarily grown for its mid to late winter bloom of pink flowers. This small 15-20 feet tall tree grows in average well-drained, acidic soils in full sun to partial shade. Avoid planting in heavy or wet soils. Most abundant flowering occurs in full sun. In the […]

Take A Second Look At Canadian Hemlock

              Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a native evergreen species which is available in many forms: prostrate, globose, weeping, fastigiate and variegated (USDA Hardiness Zones 3-7). Its tremendous versatility as a hedging tree or shrub  in planting sites is also a great reason to continue to include hemlock in the landscape. Hemlock may […]

Carolina Buckthorn Attractive Native Shrub/Tree

Many native plant enthusiasts consider the Carolina Buckthorn, aka Indian cherry (Rhamnus caroliniana), one of our most underutilized native shrubs or small trees. It suffers with a bad common name as it has no thorns or spines. This open, slender branched shrub grows 12 to 15 feet high and 10 to 15 feet wide. (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). Bright green leaves remain on […]