Plant Profile: Ladybells (Adenaphora lilifolia)
Karen When I first introduced this plant into my garden I was delighted. It grew form a rosette of leaves and bore blue bell shaped flowers on a 24” stem for…
Plant profile: Dead Nettle ‘White Nancy’ (Lamium maculatum ‘White Nancy’)
The white flowers of this fabulous ground cover are charming but the foliage makes it outstanding! Plant it in a shady spot and both the flowers and foliage will brighten…
Plant Profile: Spider Flower (Cleome hassleriana)
Also called pink queen and grandfather’s whiskers, this annual is a native of South America and a member of the Cleomaceae, a family closely related to the mustard family. The…
Plant Profile: Guinea hen flower(Fritillaria meleagris)
Guinea Hen Flower, Chequered Lily, or Snakeshead Lily, all apply to this old fashioned plant. A half dozen bulbs would flower in my mother’s Long Island garden every spring and…
Plant Profile: Catmint (Nepeta x fassenii ‘Walkers Low’)
Picture a medium sized mound of lavender-blue flowers with silver-gray foliage in front of your favorite pink rose bush and you are probably seeing ‘Walker’s Low ‘ catmint. Beloved by…
Plant Profile: Scotch Broom (Cytisus scoparius)
Scotch broom is a deciduous to evergreen, nitrogen-fixing shrub growing 4-8’ tall and is member of the pea family, Fabaceae, that also includes lupine, mimosa, and black locust. It is…
Plant Profile: Japanese Iris (Iris ensata syn. kaemperi)
The Japanese have spent over 500 years breeding this beardless iris and have created a spectacular flower that are very different from those of the more familiar German or Siberian…
Plant Profile: Annual Cornflower aka Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea cyanus)
Also known as bluebottle, bluet, and bluecap, this cool weather annual is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, sunflower, and lettuce. It is native to…
Plant Profile: Lobelia (Lobelia erinus)
The bright indigo blue flowers of bedding lobelia in six packs at garden centers always catch my eye and dance in my mind in images of the splendid border I…
Plant Profile: Purple Rock Cress (Aubrieta deltoidea)
A wildflower native to the Mediterranean and Asia Minor, purple rock cress is a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, that also includes cabbage, broccoli, and stock. It grows 4-6″…