Plant Profile: Horsetail Restio (Elegia capensis)
Karen A native of South Africa, Elegia capensis is a rhizomatous , rush-like, evergreen perennial with striking foliage and stature. The needle-like leaves are borne in whorls on the bamboo-like stems…
Book Review: The Well-Designed Mixed Garden
Designing a garden is one of the most creative aspects of gardening but can also be one of the most difficult. Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s book, The Well-Designed Mixed Garden, provides the…
Weeds and Their Control: Prostrate Vervain (Verbena bracteata)
Prostrate vervain is a native weed that grows as an annual or short-lived perennial throughout the United States. It likes a sunny site with dry, infertile soil and often grows…
Plant Profile: Jacobinia (Justicia carnea)
Jacobinia, also known as flamingo plant, is an upright evergreen shrub native to Brazil. It has coarse, dark green, heavily veined leaves, and produces plumes of tubular flowers in white,…
How to Care for Bonsai: Fukien Tea (Carmona microphylla)
This tropical evergreen shrub is native to southern China and is a good subject for bonsai. The brownish red trunk becomes thick and attractive with age and the small leaves…
Plant Profile: Rosa ‘Reve d’Or’
Given the top rating for Old Garden Roses by American Rose Society (ARS), Reve d’Ore’ is a fast-growing, vigorous, healthy Noisette especially appreciated in warm climates as a climber. The…
Book Review: Jack’s Garden
In spring when you want to interest a young child in planting a garden reach for Henry Cole’s book, Jack’s Garden. It provides step by step directions for planting and…
Weeds and Their Control: Canadian Thistle (Cirsium arvense)
The attractive flowers on Canadian thistle belie the fact that this plant is one of the most persistent weeds that can come into the garden. A native of Eurasia, it…
Plant Profile: Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia soulangiana)
A hybrid of Magnolia heptapeta x Magnolia quinquepeta, saucer magnolia is probably one of the most widely planted and best known of the magnolias. Its popularity may be due to…
Characteristics of Old Garden Roses: Noisette
Noisettes are America’s claim to fame in the rose world. They are the only old garden rose that originated in the United States. The story goes that about 1811, John…