An increasing number of gardeners are interested in making their gardens environmentally friendly but many assume that they need a lot of space. Not true. Noel Kingsbury’s book, Natural Gardening in Small Spaces, shows gardeners that they can create natural looking places that provide habitats for wildlife even in a small garden. The goal is to put together a sustainable ecosystem with aesthetic appeal which will take care of itself once established. [click to read full post]
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Brought to North America from Europe, the common asparagus beetle was first observed in the United States on Long Island in the mid 1800s. It spread rapidly and by the early 1900s was found in California. Now it can be found any place that asparagus is grown, including wild asparagus, if moisture is sufficient. Problems tend to be greater in cooler climates so the southern states and California have less problems than elsewhere. Common asparagus beetle feeds only on asparagus. Both larvae and beetles feed on the shoots and leaves, the adults beginning first as soon as the asparagus plants appear in the spring. The larvae deliver double damage by staining the plants with a black secretion. A related species, the spotted asparagus beetle, also damages asparagus but is considered less of a problem. [click to read full post]
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Sand myrtle is a small wide-spreading evergreen shrub native to the East coast of North America from New Jersey to Georgia. It has a rounded habit, fine texture, and tiny, oval, dark green boxwood-like leaves that turn bronze in fall. Small white to pink flowers emerge in terminal clusters from rose-colored buds in the spring. In the wild the shrubs are usually one to two feet tall and four to five feet wide but dwarf cultivars are available. Sand myrtle is an excellent rock garden plant or used as a ground cover in a shady area. It likes partial shade or morning sun and moist, well-drained acid soil rich in organic matter. It is hard to establish, does not like drought or heat but has no serious pest or disease problems. [click to read full post]
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There are many shades of pink and all can enhance a rock garden. Pair pastel pink with white for a soft look, hot pink with medium blue to suggest playfulness, or dark pink with burgundy to give depth. Think about salmon pink with moss green, or medium pink with purple. Notice how well many shades of pink go with silver gray or medium to dark green leaves. Pink is a great color for the rock garden and fortunately there are many plants with pink flowers that are suitable. [click to read full post]
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If you have a small garden or are tired of staking hollyhocks, consider ‘Queeny Purple’, a dwarf hollyhock standing only 36” high. ‘Queeny Purple’ has large purple-magenta flowers with fringed petals surrounding a fluffy center and flowers over a long bloom time beginning in summer. Plants are deer and rabbit resistant but attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Unfortunately, like other hollyhocks, ‘Queeny Purple’ is susceptible to rust. ‘Queeny Purple’ is a biennial but blooms the first year. It will produce seed but the seeds are unlikely to look like ‘Queeny Purple’ and must be replanted every year. This is an excellent choice for containers as well as beds and borders. [click to read full post]
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McGee’s and Stuckey’s book, Bountiful Container, is about growing edibles including vegetables, fruits, herbs, or flowers. Whether you live in an apartment, townhouse, or condominium and have limited space or you just prefer to have pots of edibles near your cooking or eating area, this book will help you grow a large variety of foods in containers. With a few exceptions, everything that can be grown in a traditional garden can be grown in a container and this book will tell you how. [click to read full post]
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Poison ivy is a perennial native to eastern, and mid-western United States and is found in all U.S. states east of the Rocky Mountains. It grows well in shaded areas and is especially common along the edges of fields and woods but can also grow in the full sun of open fields. It is not fussy about soil moisture and even grows in areas that are prone to seasonal flooding. The plant sap contains urushiol which can cause inflammation, blistering, and itching skin in about 70% of the population. On the other hand, poison ivy is an important browse species and provides berries in fall, winter and early spring for a large number of birds. [click to read full post]
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Slender deutzia is a low, broad, deciduous shrub native to Japan and popular in many parts of the world. In spring it produces a lavish display of small white flowers that last a couple of weeks. The flowers are lightly fragrant, bell shaped and borne in three inch long loose clusters. The plant grows to five feet tall and forms a mound with arching branches. It is fine textured with simple, bright to dark green leaves that measure one to three inches long and half inch wide. The shrub is very easy to transplant and grow, tolerating a wide range of growing conditions. It is attractive grouped in shrub borders where its plain appearance when not in bloom can blend in with other shrubs and is also useful as an informal hedge or in an open woodland setting. Plants tend to develop dead wood and become unattractive with age but yearly pruning after flowering will correct the problem. Severe pruning will rejuvenate a plant. Tolerant of drought and pollution. [click to read full post]
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Yellow flowers are bright and perky. They stand out in the garden and can easily be seen. They also go with many other colors and so are easy to use in the garden. Yellow is a warm color and can contrast well with cool colors like blue. It can produce a tropical look with pinks and greens or add to the heat of red. Whatever colors you have in your garden, there is a yellow to enhance the look. [click to read full post]
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This deciduous shrub provides year round interest in the garden. Pale yellow pea-like flowers are fragrant and cover the bushes for a showy display in late spring to early summer. The evergreen stems bear small sparse leaves and provide medium fine texture and winter interest. Warminster broom grows quickly to five feet tall and has arching shoots that add a graceful appearance. It tolerates drought, air pollution and dry, infertile, poor soil so can be used in difficult areas such as slopes and banks as well as in borders and beds. [click to read full post]
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