Archive for the ‘Bee Favorite’ Category

Check Out These Four Plant Select® Picks

If you’re search for top performing plants, especially very drought tolerant, take a look at the picks from Plant Select®. This is a nonprofit collaboration of Colorado State University, Denver Botanic Gardens and professional horticulturists. Their mission is to seek out and distribute the very best plants for landscapes and gardens from the intermountain region to […]

Sorting Through The Joe Pye Cultivars

Joe Pye weed (Eutrichum purpureum) is a native perennial commonly spotted onthe edge of farm fields in the eastern and northern U.S. (USDA hardiness zones 4 to 9). The wild species grows 5-7 feet high and 2-4 feet wide. It blooms from late July to September and is a magnet to attract bees and butterflies. Over the past two […]

Fall In Love With Haas’ Halo® Hydrangea

Anyone walking through your garden will stop to see Haas Halo®) hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens Haas Halo®).  This native smooth hydrangea has intense blue-green, leathery foliage and huge pure white wide lace cap blooms (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). Flowers stand tall on stout sturdy stems. Shrub branching is upright. This new hydrangea was found by Frederick H. Ray, […]

Five Perennial Staples For Your Summer Garden

If you are designing a new perennial garden, here are five proven perennials to start out with. All varieties are standout garden performers known for their long blooming period and showy flowers. Coreopsis and veronica are often utilized for edging along a sunny border. All can be planted in mixed containers. ‘Pow Wow Wild Berry’ coneflower (Echinacea […]

Five Reliable Summer – Early Fall Flowering Perennials

Planning a new perennial garden this summer?Include these five very dependable flowering perennials. All are low maintenance and are U.S. natives (USDA Zones 4–8). ‘Zagreb’ (Coreopsis verticillata) has a very uniform plant habit and finely dissected foliage. Plant grows only about 20 -24 inches tall, and is blanketed with bright yellow (gold) flowers coupled with […]

U.S. Native Bleeding Hearts Dazzle In Woodland Garden

One of nature’s delights in the late spring  – early summer garden is the wonder of bleeding hearts (Dicentra spp.) in bloom (USDA hardiness zones 3-9). Fringed bleeding heart (D. exima) is a U.S. native to  the Appalachian Mountains. Fringed bleeding heart exhibits deeply-cut, fern-like, grayish-green foliage on 10-15 inch tall plants. Dangling bright pink pendant (or heart) flowers […]

Virginia Sweetspire — A Standout Native Shrub

Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is a native shrub that touts showy white raceme flowers in late spring and brilliant reddish purple foliage in fall (USDA hardiness zones 5-9). Flowers are very fragrant and attracts hundreds of bees and other pollinators. VA sweetspire excels in moist, humus-rich, mildly acidic soils (pH 5.2-6.5). In its native habitat, […]

Annual Flowering Vines

This spring try vertical gardening. There are a number of annual flowering vines that grow in either the ground or in a large container. Some offer cooling shade on a deck or patio. Vines are highly ornamental with attractive flowers, foliage, and/or fruits. Annual vines grow quickly after planting. Plant seeds of these vines at the base of […]

Getting A Sourwood Tree Going

Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) is one of our most beautiful U.S. native trees. Trees often grow multi-stemmed or shrub-like to 20-30 feet or in tree form to 35-40 feet high and narrow in spread. Trying to establish a new tree can be challenging. In the wild sourwoods are often found growing in shallow soils on steep […]

Four Very Different Annuals You Should Try

I asked three regional horticulturists to identify an under-planted drought tolerant annual. Here are four (4) that they recommended: Drumstick flower or “Billy Buttons” (Craspedia globosa) produces a golden-yellow display of spherical flowers that often reach the size of golf balls (USDA plant hardiness zones 8-11). The silvery-gray foliage reaches about 2 feet tall and wide, […]