Few woody plants can matched for year-round beauty of Seven son flower. Temple of Bloom® is an outstanding selection from Proven Winners™ (PW) is a beautiful, easy to grow this deciduous small tree or large shrub. It grows 10 -20 feet tall and 6-10 feet wide. In spring, the handsome leaves emerge, each sporting dramatically deep […]
Archive for the ‘Non-native’ Category
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 […]
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 […]
Groundcover Sedums In Containers
Low creeping sedums (stonecrops) are super nice groundcover plants. Consider planting stonecrops in border fronts, on moderate slopes, containers and rock gardens. Plant in the partial to full sun, although many species grow well in light shade. The site should have good soil drainage. Sedums are also planted on “green roof” and “green wall” systems. I […]
‘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 […]
Bletilla – Hardy Garden Orchid
Chinese ground orchid (Bletilla striata), aka “Hardy Garden Orchid”, is a terrestrial orchid which produces small, cattleya-like, downward-facing purple flowers. It is indigenous to moist grassy slopes of central China and southern Japan. Ground orchids produce attractive foliage and showy flowers, that bloom from mid-spring and early summer. The flowering racemes stand approximately 12-18 inches high […]
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 […]