Gardening Tips

Lanceleaf Coreopsis tolerant in summer

Lanceleaf Coreopsis is a lovely upright herbaceous native plant that thrives in full sun and moist but well drained soils. It is very tolerant of heat, humidity, drought, poor and or dry soils and deer are not likely to nibble either the leaves or flowers. Like a lot...

Tree peony shrubs bursting with color

Tree peonies or Paeonia suffruticosa are a close relative of the herbaceous or garden peony, but are considered shrubs because the stems do not die back in the winter. They can grow 3-5 feet tall and 3-4 feet wide in full sun to part afternoon shade and moist,...

Spicebush Viburnum blooms in April

Some plants have it all, spring flowers, summer foliage, fall color and winter interest. The Viburnum carlesii, or the Spicebush Viburnum is a lovely deciduous shrub with silver gray branches that spread out near the ground and upwards in a loose rounded habit. In...

Daffodils a reliable prelude to spring

One of the first flowers to brighten the landscape and gardens in the spring are the daffodils, with their cheerful bright yellow crown and center trumpet, framed by their dark green slender leaves. Daffodils need to be planted in the autumn when the daytime...

All-America Selection flowers in bloom

Winter is a time for creating the perfect garden on paper and in your imagination, whether it is a vegetable garden or a flower garden, or better yet, a vegetable garden with flowers planted in and around the vegetables to welcome the pollinators. Most annuals need to...

Snow crocus a sign of beauty in cold

There are some surprises in the gardens during this chilly time of the year, and one is the emergence of a very hardy and rather small plant, the Crocus tommasinianus or the snow crocus. Every January in my yard a small clump of snow crocus blooms, starting out by...

Rosemary, lavender spice up season

The winter holidays are often filled with baking, both sweet and savory dishes that fills the home with delicious fragrances. Winter also has special plants that reflect the spirit of the holidays, but there is always room to add other plants that will share the...

Is it a shrub or a small tree?

Summer is often considered after Labor Day, but no one told the Seven-son flower tree that. This very late blooming deciduous tree is considered either a large shrub or a small tree, growing only 10-20 feet tall and 8-10 feet wide. The tree has dark green leaves that...