Characteristics of Informal Gardens
Chuck The carefree relaxed look of an informal garden is very appealing. But don’t be deceived into believing that this look comes naturally. The best informal gardens are carefully planned, executed…
Plant Profile: White Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)
Karen This native of woodland edges, stream banks, and roadsides from Massachusetts, Kentucky, and Missouri south to Florida and west to Texas, is a small deciduous shrub or tree with a…
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,…
Plant Profile: Siberian Squill (Scilla sibirica)
Whether growing along the edge of a deciduous woodland or under shrubs with daffodils, Siberian squill is a welcome sight in spring. The bright blue color brightens up any landscape…
Plant Profile: Weeping Leucothoe (Leucothoe fontanesiana)
Leucothoe is one of the rare plants that really loves the shade and is beautiful growing with azaleas, rhododendrons, and other ericaceous plants with its graceful arching stems, leathery shiny…
Plant Profile: Guinea hen flower(Fritillaria meleagris)
Guinea Hen Flower, Chequered Lily, or Snakeshead Lily, all apply to this old fashioned plant. A half dozen bulbs would flower in my mother’s Long Island garden every spring and…
Plant Profile: Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia)
Growing four to twenty feet tall, this evergreen shrub is native to moist woods and clearings, and along streams from southern Maine south to northern Florida, and west to Indiana…
Plant Profile: Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata)
admin Envision a gently flowing brook under trees newly leafed out in spring with a mass of fragrant blue flowers blowing in the breeze underneath. Those blue flowers could be Wild…
Plant Profile: Grecian Windflower (Anemone blanda)
Native to southeastern Europe, Turkey, Lebanon, and Syria Grecian windflower is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, that also includes delphinium, clematis, and hellebore. The plants grow…
Plant Profile: Spike Winter Hazel (Corylopsis spicata)
Native to Japan, this flowering deciduous shrub is in the witch hazel family, Hamamelidaceae, that also includes fothergill and loropetalum. The unusual fragrant flowers that appear in late winter to…