Plant Profile: Pomegranate (Punica granatum)
Karen A native Iran and Iraq, the pomegranate is a deciduous tree or shrub that has been grown since ancient times and is widely cultivated for the juicy seeds of its…
Plant Profile: Persimmon (Diospyros kaki)
Grown in China for over 2000 years, the persimmon is a popular small deciduous tree grown in California for its sweet fruit and beautiful fall coloration. There are two types…
Plant Profile: New South Wales Christmas Bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum)
A native of southeastern Australia, this Christmas bush is a small tree or tall shrub that has bright carmine red flowers at Christmas time in its native land. Like poinsettas,…
Plant Profile: Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles speciosus)
A native of China, flowering quince, was widely grown for in this country and Europe in hedges for many years until they were replaced by Japanese barberry which was more…
Plant Profile: Water Arum (Calla palustris)
A relative of the tropical calla lily and peace lily, water arum has the same type of inflorescence consisting of a showy white spath cuped around a fleshy central spadix…
Plant Profile: ‘Blackbird’ Spurge (Euphorbia ‘Nothowlee’)
The velvety dark purple foliage of ‘Blackbird’ spurge is striking in the garden from spring until fall. The foliage color is stimulated by sunlight so plants grown in full sun…
Plant Profile: New York Fern (Thelypteris noveboracensis)
I am partial to ferns so I am likely to incorporate almost any fern into my garden but this fern offers some unique characteristics that make it special. It forms…
Plant Profile: Gas Plant (Dictamnus albus)
The common name “gas plant’ surely piques the curiosity about this plant which is a fine garden specimen as well as a curiosity. According to the story the common name…
Plant Profile: Broadleaved Bears Breeches (Acanthus mollis) ‘Latifolius’
The ancient Greeks admired the large deeply lobed and cut leaves of this tender herbaceous perennial and used it as a model for the decorative capitals on their Corinthian columns.…
Plant Profile: ‘Dwarf Pagoda’ Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata ‘Dwarf Pagoda’)
For those of us who live in the mid-Atlantic or Southeast where summers are hot and humid there are a limited number of dwarf evergreen shrubs that we can grow…