Plant Profile: ‘Dwarf Pagoda’ Japanese Holly (Ilex crenata ‘Dwarf Pagoda’)
Karen 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…
Plant Profile: Olympic St. John’s Wort (Hypericum olympicum)
There are over 200 species of Hypericum, from shrubs, to sub-shrubs, to herbaceous perennials, and Hypericum olympicum is an excellent one for rock gardens. A native of southeast Europe and…
Plant Profile: Creeping Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila repens)
Creeping baby’s breath is a herbaceous perennial native the mountains of central and southern Europe where it grows on dry, chalky slopes. It is a member of the carnation family,…
Plant Profile: Cushion Spruge (Euphorbia polychroma aka E. epithymoides )
Cushion spurge is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial native to Central and southeastern Europe, and Asia Minor, and a member of the Euphorbiaceae family that also includes pointsetta, rubber plant, and…
Plant Profile: Parry’s Agave (Agave parryi)
Also known as mescal agave, this species is a native of Arizona and New Mexico and is more cold hardy than other agaves. It has silver-green heavily toothed leaves that…
Plant Profile: Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum)
Heat and drought tolerant, this native of the southern Great Plains to Arizona and northern New Mexico makes an excellent plant for rock gardens or border plant in desert gardens…
Plant Profile: Two-Row Stonecrop (Sedum spurium ‘Fuldaglut’)
The small rose-red, star-shaped flowers of this low-growing sedum cover the plant in late summer but until then the thick succulent, maroon-tinged, leaves are attractive. In fall when the flowers…
Plant Profile: Fremont’s Leather Flower (Clematis fremontii)
This small non-climbing shrubby clematis has a long season of interesting beginning with attractive green leathery foliage in spring. In late spring nodding bell-shaped purple to white flowers appear singly…
Plant Profile: Lily Leek (Allium moly)
A native of southern Europe, lily leek has long enjoyed a rich past. It is said to be the “Moly” that saved Ulysses from the charms of Circe as described…
Plant Profile: Woolly Yarrow (Achillea tomentosa )
This semi-evergreen, mat-forming perennial is native to the lowlands of Europe and western Asia and is a member of the aster family, Asteraceae, that also includes daisy, goldenrod and lettuce.…