Plant Profile: Golden Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia aurea)
Karen Native to central Columbia and Ecuador, where it grows on the slopes of the Andes, is an evergreen shrub or small tree. It is considered extinct in the wild but…
Book Review: Clondeglass: Creating a Garden Paradise
Dermont O’Neil, journalist, TV and radio personality, and gardener, takes the reader with him as he realizes his dream. As a child he had seen a walled garden that inspired…
Weeds and Their Control: Honeyvine Milkweed (Cynanchum laeve/ Ampelamus albidus)
Known by many common names including bluevine, climbing milkweed, sandvine,and smooth swallow-wort, this perennial twining vine is native to central and eastern US where it grows in disturbed areas such…
Plant Profile: Monroe’s Ragwort (Brachyglottis monroi)
Native to New Zealand and Tasmania, this evergreen shrub forms a compact dome that tolerates the dry windy conditions of its natural maritime habitat on cliffs. The oblong leaves are…
Hybrid Hulthemia Roses
For over forty years rose breeders have been intrigued by the possibility of producing a repeat-blooming rose with a red blotch in the center. The inspiration for this endeavor is…
Plant Profile: Queen’s Tear (Billbergia nutans)
Also known as friendship plant, this evergreen tender perennial is a bromeliad native of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay where it grows as an epiphyte in low trees and as…
Book Review: Claude Monets Gardens at Giverny
Thoughts of Monet’s garden at Giverny brings up images of a Japanese bridge and water lilies. Do you envision the water lilies and bridge in the spring? In the winter,…
Plant Combination: Hosta’ Royal Standard’ and Purple Leaf Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum var. dissectum’Tamukeyama’
This hosta and Japanese maple combination is lovely for a partially shady spot that depends upon foliage. It combines a contrast in color with a contrast in texture for a…
Plant Profile: Himalayan White Birch (Betula utilis var jacquemontii )
The Himalayan white birch is a deciduous tree admired for its very white paper-like bark, considered whiter than even the European white birch. Native to the Himalayas, it is a…
Birds in the Garden: Plants that Attract the Mockingbird and Catbird Family (Mimidae)
The Mimidae are American birds and include the thrashers as well as mockingbirds and catbirds. They are also known as mimic thrushes but this name applies best to the mockingbird…