Plant Profile: Spanish Broom (Spartium junceum)
Karen Known as rush broom and weaver’s broom, this flowering deciduous shrub is native to southwestern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Azores where it grows on dry, sandy, sunny sites. It…
Plant Profile: Rubber Rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus aka Ericameria nauseosus)
Rubber rabbitbrush is a deciduous shrub and a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisies, yarrow, and lettuce. It is naive to the western third of the…
Plant Profile: Caucasian Daphne (Daphne caucasica)
Native to the Caucasus, this deciduous shrub is a member of the Thymelaeaceae, a plant family of just under 900 species, most of which are unfamiliar to North American gardeners.…
Poisonous Plants: Mezereum (Daphne mezereum)
Also known as February daphne, spurge laurel or spurge olive, this deciduous shrub is native to limestone soils in mixed woodlands of most of Europe and western Asia, north to…
Plant Profile: Red Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa)
Native to moist habitats of Canada, the US, Europe and northern temperate Asia, this deciduous tree-like shrub is a member of the moschatel family, Adoxaceae, that also includes viburnum. The…
Plant Profile: Russian Pea Shrub (Caragana frutex)
Native to Turkestan and Siberia, this deciduous suckering shrub is a member of the pea family, Fabaceae, that also includes beans, lupines and mimosa. It grows 6-10′ tall and forms…
Plants of Ancient Pompeii: Gallic Rose (Rosa gallica)
Rosa gallica is probably the oldest rose in existence. Native to southern and central Europe, it was first domesticated by the ancient Greeks and Romans and most modern roses can…
Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects: Suckering Shadbush (Amelanchier canadensis)
Suckering shadbush is a deciduous, multi-stemmed large shrub or small tree native to eastern North America from Canada to Alabama. It is a member of the rose family, Rosaceae, that…
Plant Profile: White Weeping Broom (Retama raetam aka Genista raetam)
This dense, deciduous, flowering shrub is native to arid regions of northern Africa from the Western Sahara to Sudan, Sicily, the Sinai Peninsula, the Palestine region and Saudi Arabia. It…
Plants of the Bible: White Weeping Broom (Retama raetam akd Genista raetam)
This dense deciduous flowering shrub is native to arid regions of northern Africa from the Western Sahara to Sudan, Sicily, the Sinai Peninsula, the Palestine region and Saudi Arabia. It…