Plant Profile: Carpathian Harebell (Campanula carpatica)
Karen The tidy mounds of wavy heart-shaped leaves covered with flowers make an ideal edge for the border. The first flush of flowers in mid summer is followed by a short…
Plant Profile: Arend’s Saxifrage (Saxifraga x arendsii)
Of the many different kinds of saxifraga that exist the hybrids developed by the German nursery Arends, these are among the best and most readily available. The delicate flowers in…
Plant Profile: Winter Heather (Erica carnea)
Winter heather is a low growing compact evergreen shrub that gets up to 12” tall and up to 24” wide so makes a very good ground cover. It grows slowly…
Plant Profile: Granny’s Bonnet/ Garden Columbine (Aquilegia vulgaris)
With a name like “granny’s bonnet” this plant is bound to raise the curiosity of any gardener. As one of 65 species of columbine, this is not the best known,…
Five Spring Blooming Bulbs for the Rock Garden
Every rock garden needs flowers that bloom in the spring and what could be more appropriate than bulbs? Tuck a handful here and there among the rocks and let their…
Plant Profile: Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum)
One of the earliest bulbs in my garden to emerge in the spring is grape hyacinth. The dense spikes of fragrant cobalt-blue urn-shaped flowers resemble upside down bunches of grapes…
Plant Profile: Sweet Violet (Viola odorata)
Native to Europe and Asia, the sweet violet is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the plant family Violaceae, that also includes pansies and johnny jump ups. It grows 4-10″ tall…
Plant Profile: Aloe (Aloe vera aka Aloe barbadensis)
Best known as aloe vera, this evergreen succulent perennial is a member of Asphodelaceae family that also includes daylily (Hemerocallis), red hot poker (Kniphofia), and foxtail lily (Eremurus) Its origin…
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″…
Plant Profile: Basket-of-Gold (Aurinia saxatilis)
A native of central and southeastern Europe, basket-of-gold is an evergreen perennial also known as yellow alyssum, madwort, goldentuft, and gold-dust. It is a member of the cabbage family, Brassicaceae,…