Plant Profile: Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’)
Karen The symmetrical pyramidal form of Bradford pears is so picturesque that homeowners find it difficult to resist planting them. Their early spring bloom on the perfectly shaped trees is so…
Plant Profile: Yoshino Flowering Cherry (Prunus x yedoensis)
If you have ever seen these trees in bloom around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D. C. you will know why people flock to that city to enjoy the magnificent…
Understanding Tender Perennials
Some of our most useful plants in the summer garden are tender perennials. Many of them provide abundant color for a long period of time but unfortunately they die when…
Plant Profile: Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia)
Nothing announces the coming of spring better than the blooming of forsythia. Even in dead winter this tough shurb is ready to go as soon as a warm spell comes…
Garden Journal: March 28, 2010
A warm week has brought some of our shrubs and trees to flowers, joining a few spring bulbs. Most of the garden, however, is stirring but not rushing into bloom…
Plant Profile: Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica)
A carpet of Virginia Bluebells in spring is a magnificent sight! These clump forming native plants colonize and naturalize readily providing beauty to a woodland garden for about 3 weeks…
A Visit to Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, California, March 2010
If you are lucky enough to visit this garden in March, after the rainy season, you are in for a big treat. You probably expect to see lots of cactus…
Plant Profile: Netted Iris (Iris reticulata)
This iris, native to the area of the Caucausus makes its appearance early, about the time that the snow drops, glory-of-the-snow and early crocuses bloom. One of my favorite early…
Plant Profile: Grecian Windflower (Anemone blanda)
Native to southeastern Europe, Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria Grecian windflower is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes delphinium, clematis, and hellebore. The plants grow…
Eight Interesting Facts about Aphids and Suggestions for Control
Does your heart sink when you see a favorite plant covered with tiny insects exuding a sticky gop, perhaps accompanied by a black dust? You can see that the insects…