Plant Profile: Japanese Roof Iris (Iris tectorum)
Karen As a plant collector rather than a garden designer I adore plants that are a bit out of the ordinary and if they come with a good history or story,…
Plant Profile: Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)
Lily of the valley is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial native to the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere and grows best where summers are warm but not hot. Each plant…
Plant Profile: Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea)
Every spring when I start puttering around in my secret garden I look for the emergence of my cinnamon fern. After 4 to 5 weeks of looking in vain I…
Plant Profile: Wisteria spp.
Wisteria is either your pride and joy or the bane of your existence depending on whether or not it blooms each spring. Nothing is more romantic than long racemes of…
Plant Profile: Fothergill (Fothergill gardenii)
Native to moist areas of Southeast US, this compact deciduous shrub is a member of the witch hazel family, Hamamelidaceae, that also includes Persian ironwood, and loropetalum. Growing up to…
Plant Profile: Daffodil ‘Hawera’ (Narcissus triandrus ‘Hawera’)
Now that the dogwood and azaleas are blooming in my garden, the daffodils are gone, all but one, that is. It stands 16 inches tall with slender leaves and small,…
Plant Profile: Sweet Woodruff (Galium odoratum)
My spring shade garden would not be complete with out sweet woodruff growing as a ground cover here and there with abandon. It has small very white flowers on apple…
Plant Profile: Fan Columbine (Aquilegia flabellata)
I find columbine flowers very intriguing. They are composed of 5 petals plus a short broad tube in front and 5 sepals (modified leaves) projecting backward forming spurs. The sepals…
Plant Profile: Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum)
I love good-looking foliage and Japanese Painted Fern has the most beautiful foliage of any plant I know. This deciduous fern emerges in my garden showing deep purple and then…
Plant Profile: Tulip ‘Red Gem’ (Tulipa batalinii ‘Red Gem’)
If you like tulips but not the big formal ones, this may be tulip you will love. It is late blooming and starts life in my garden with its narrow…