Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) is a landscape shrub offers four seasons of landscape interest. Also called Japanese allspice, this deciduous mid-sized shrub typically grows 10-15 feet tall and 8-12 feet wide and blooms during winter (USDA zones 7-9). You can also risk planting wintersweet in a protected courtyard garden in Zones 6 to minimize freeze injury […]
Archive for the ‘Fragrant’ Category
Winter-blooming Wintersweet
Posted by Hugh on February 6th, 2021
Posted in acidic soil, Bees and other pollinators, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Fragrant, mulching, Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, winter hardiness, Wintersweet (Chimonanthus) 
Comments Off on Winter-blooming WintersweetSeven Shrubs That Bloom In February
Posted by Hugh on February 1st, 2021
If you have ever dreamt of creating a year-round landscape garden, here are seven fine shrubs to start with. These shrubs bloom in late winter and are also important to early insect pollinators — native ground bees, bumble bees, and butterflies. In USDA hardiness zones 7-9, winter temperatures begin to moderate and some shrubs burst into floral […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Chinese witchhazel, container shrub, Daphne odora, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Edgeworthia, Environmental Conservation, Evergreen, Evergreens, Fertilizing plants, Flower Arranging, Flowering shrub, Fragrant, Honeysuckle (Lonicera), Jessamine (Gelsemium), Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer heat tolerant, Sweetbox (Sarcococca), Trees & Shrubs, Winter flowering, Winter Garden Interest, winter hardiness, Wintersweet (Chimonanthus), Witchhazel (Hamamelis) Comments Off on Seven Shrubs That Bloom In FebruaryNew Landscape Roses With Exceptional Fragrance
Posted by Hugh on January 15th, 2021
Over a century of rose breeding has rewarded gardeners with so many gorgeous garden roses: hybrid tea, grandiflora, floribunda and shrub types. Rose breeders have concentrated on plant vigor, flower color, disease resistance, and greater numbers of flowers over the growing season. Over the years, floral fragrance has been mostly ignored. In the past two […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting Butterflies, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Breeding Plants, compact shrub, Container growing, container shrub, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Flower Arranging, Flowers, Fragrant, mulching, Planting tips, Powdery mildew, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Roses, Roses (Shrub type), shrub roses, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, Uncategorized, watering tips Comments Off on New Landscape Roses With Exceptional FragranceCalamint – 2021 Perennial Plant of The Year (PPOY)
Posted by Hugh on January 1st, 2021
Too begin a new gardening year, the Perennial Plant Association has named calamint (Calamintha nepeta ssp. nepeta) as the 2021 Perennial Plant of the Year. One landscaper designer describes calamint as “a cloud of confetti, tiny white flowers”. Plants are dotted with masses of tiny white (or pale blue) flowers from early summer to fall. […]
Posted in acidic soil, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Butterflies, Calamint, Container garden, deadheading, Deciduous, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fall Garden Interest, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, Landscape ideas, mulching, Perennials, Planting tips, Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, winter hardiness Comments Off on Calamint – 2021 Perennial Plant of The Year (PPOY)Repel Deer And Rabbits
Posted by Hugh on December 11th, 2020
We live at a time that deer population numbers have grown out of control in many areas of the U.S. The internet lists plants that “DEER DON’T EAT”. However, deer have not read these lists, and secondly, a starving deer will eat just about anything. An adult deer may eat 5-6 pounds of plant material […]
Posted in Annuals, apple orchard, Apple tree, Artemisia, Begonia, Container garden, Corn (Sweet or Field), Dahlia, Deer resistant, Edible fruits, Environmental Conservation, Fencing, Fragrant, Geranium, Hosta, Landscape ideas, Lobelia (cardnial flower), Native Plant, Peach, Pear (Pyrus spp.), Poisonous or toxic, Purchasing Plants, Rabbit/deer Protection, Raised bed Gardening, Raspberries, Roses, Southern Appalachian Region, Uncategorized, Wildlife attractant Comments Off on Repel Deer And RabbitsHouseplants Improve Your Home Atmosphere
Posted by Hugh on November 26th, 2020
Houseplants decorate as well as clean the air at work and in homes or apartments, particularly when windows are closed over the winter months. Doctors tell us that an environment filled with lots of plants help to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and improve mind function, particularly our ability to concentrate. Here are six easy […]
Posted in Bromeliads, Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema), Dracaena, Ferns, Foliage plant, Fragrant, Interior (house) Plants, Landscape ideas, Planting tips, Purchasing Plants, Snake plant (Sanservieria), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Tropical Plants (non-hardy), watering iris, ZZ Plant (Zamioculcas) Comments Off on Houseplants Improve Your Home AtmosphereCoast Leucothoe a Better Choice
Posted by Hugh on November 16th, 2020
Compared to other doghobble species, coast leucothoe or doghobble (Leucothoe axillaris) is a best choice for Southern U.S. landscapes (USDA zones 6 -9). This species is native to open woodland areas of the Southeastern U.S. The species grows along woodland slopes usually nearby a water source. However, its roots do not tolerate perennially damp ground. Doghobbles are […]
Posted in acidic soil, Anthracnose, Attracting birds, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Deer resistant, Doghobble (Leucothoe), Environmental issues, Fertilizing plants, Fragrant, Ground cover, Landscape ideas, Leaf retention, Leaf/needle spots, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Planting tips, Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Scale, Shade Gardening, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Spring flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Trees & Shrubs, watering tips, Wildlife attractant, winter hardiness, Winter Protection Comments Off on Coast Leucothoe a Better ChoiceSix Architecturally Tall Perennials
Posted by Hugh on August 11th, 2020
Here are six showy architectural gems to grow in your garden. All six are “big guys” and are valued for their bold presence, disease-free foliage, and their attractive flowers, that are also great pollinators. Queen of the Prairie (Filipendula rubra) is a U.S. native perennial that mimics an astilbe on steroids. This tall, upright, clump-forming […]
Posted in acidic soil, Annual rudbeckia (R. hirta), Annuals, Biennial, Butterflies, Compass Plant (Silphium), compost, Container garden, Deer resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Environmental Conservation, Fall sunflower (Helianthus spp.), Fennel (Foeniculum), Fertilizing plants, Filipendula, Fragrant, Heat Tolerance, Hibiscus coccineus, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Propagation (Cuttings), Propagation (Seed), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Rosinweed (Silphinum), Rudbeckia 'Herbstonne', Soil Conservation, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Staking, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Transplant problem Comments Off on Six Architecturally Tall PerennialsSeven Late Summer Perennial Gems
Posted by Hugh on August 1st, 2020
The following seven (7) perennials provide gorgeous floral color in mixed perennial beds in late summer and into fall. Flowers attract pollinators, including lots of bees, butterflies, and an occasional hummingbird. ‘Blue Fortune’ Giant Hyssop (Agastache x ‘Blue Fortune’) offers lavender-blue flowers during a long hot summer extending into early fall. Leaves emit a minty-anise […]
Posted in acidic soil, Agastache (Hyssop), Aster, Attracting birds, Attracting Butterflies, Autumn flowering, Bee Favorite, Bees and other pollinators, Beneficial insects, Butterflies, Chrysanthemum, compost, Container garden, Culinary, deadheading, Disease resistant, Disease resistant, Drought tolerant, Fall Garden Interest, Fragrant, Ground cover, Heuchera (coralbells), Hummingbird, Landscape Construction, Landscape ideas, mulching, Native Plant, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Plumbago (Leadwort), Propagation (Cuttings), Pruning, Purchasing Plants, Russian sage (Perovskia), Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, Symphyotrichum (asster), Turtlehead (Chelone), watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Seven Late Summer Perennial GemsQueen Of The Prairie Or Meadowsweet
Posted by Hugh on June 6th, 2020
Q “Tall and pretty spectacular” very much describes Queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra) (USDA hardiness zones 3 to 8). Twelve species comprise this genus of U.S. perennials (USDA hardiness zones 3-8). Best known species are meadowsweet (F. ulmaria).dropwort (F. vulgaris), both native to Europe, and queen-of-the-forest (F. occidentalis) and queen-of-the-prairie (F. rubra), both native […]
Posted in acidic soil, Aggressive grower, alkaline soil, Bees and other pollinators, Butterflies, Deciduous, Disease resistant, Filipendula, Flower Arranging, Foliage plant, Fragrant, Heat Tolerance, Landscape ideas, mulching trees, Native Plant, Native Plant, Perennials, Planting tips, Powdery mildew, Propagation (dividing), Propagation (Seed), Purchasing Plants, Rust diseases, Soil drainage, Southern Appalachian Region, Summer flowering, Summer heat tolerant, watering tips, winter hardiness Comments Off on Queen Of The Prairie Or Meadowsweet
