Archive for the ‘Purchasing Plants’ Category

Four Landscape Shrubs That Are Early Summer Stars

Bottlebrush buckeye (Aesculus parviflora) is one of our finest early summer native flowering shrubs for sun or shady sites. It is a dense, mounded, suckering, deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub which grows 6-12 feet tall and 15-18 feet spread. It flaunts unique palmate green leaves (5-7 leaflets) and white 10-12 inch tall floral candles. The dynamic bottlebrush  […]

Hakone Grass – On The Shadier Side Of A Garden

Japanese Forest grasses, also called Hakone grasses (Hakonechloa macra), hail from Japan (USDA hardiness Zones 5-9). They are a wonderful choice in a drab woodland garden spot. You will love them for their bright foliage and low growing habit. Hakone grass grows in a mounding clump. The foliage cascades over rocks, edges over  garden walls, […]

Queen Of The Prairie Or Meadowsweet

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 […]

Six Easy Perennials To Grow

Rozanne (‘Gerwalt’) Cranesbill (Geranium X ‘Rozanne’) – low growing flowering groundcover that forms a 20 inch tall by 24 inch wide mound; blooms almost non-stop from mid-spring to early fall. For a cranesbill, its 5-petaled, violet-blue flowers are huge (2.5 inches wide) with off-white centers; in bloom from late spring to early summer. (Zones 5-8). […]

Two Kinds Of Maidenhair Ferns

Maidenhair ferns (Adiantum spp.) are deciduous hardy perennial ferns. Two native species are commonly planted in U.S. gardens. These delicate-looking ferns typically grow 1 to 2 feet tall and frequently grow in rich soils in eastern and Midwest U.S. woodland gardens. The palmately compound fronds are finely-textured along with thin wiry black stems. Coiled young […]

Garden Phlox Attract Pollinators

Phlox (Phlox spp.) are popular perennials that are also U.S. natives. A multitude of species and hybrids are available to landscapers and gardeners for almost any type of garden environment, including containers. Here is a list of the intermediate garden species: Border phlox (Phlox paniculata),  Meadow phlox (P. maculata), Carolina phlox (P. carolina), Smooth phlox […]

Calibrachoas (Million Bells*)

Gardeners have discovered Million Bells* (Calibrachoa x hybrida), a small flowering cousin of the petunia. Million Bells are prolific bloomers and produce one-inch mini-blossoms. They were first marketed to home gardeners in the 1990’s. They’re native to Peru, Brazil, and Chile, and are commonly grown as annuals in the U.S. Over the past twenty years […]

The Mountain Mints – The Pollinators’ Favorite

Mountain mints (Pycnanthemum spp.) are clump-forming native perennials. They typically grow 1-3 feet tall depending on species (USDA hardiness zones 4 – 8). About 20 species of mountain mints are found in the southeastern U.S. As their name suggests, they belong to the mint family, very evident by their square stems and aromatic leaves when […]

Growing Coneflowers

No question, coneflowers have changed greatly over the past quarter century. Varieties are now available in many color shades and plants demonstrate improved longevity. Current cultivars grow alot shorter. However, some hybrid forms have been disappointing, barely surviving  1-2 years. When choosing coneflowers, Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is my #1 favorite for dependability (USDA hardiness […]

Golden Chain Tree

Golden Chain Tree (Laburnum anagyroides) is a small deciduous tree or large shrub. This small landscape tree is a member of the Bean Family (Fabaceae) and is native to central Europe (USDA hardiness zones 5 to 7). It is rated as a short-lived tree that grows to 25 or 30 feet in height as a […]