Gardening Tips

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...

‘BeeBop’ desires Shore’s sandy soils

Monarda punctata, or “BeeBop,” is also known as dotted beebalm and will thrive on our Eastern Shore in sandy soils with moisture and full sun. Once established, dotted beebalm becomes more drought tolerant, but will always flower better and are less susceptible to...

No loss of variety with daylilies

Daylilies are delightful summer blooming herbaceous perennials that come in a rainbow of vibrant or soft colors, some double bloomers and some with long elegant petals. Their name says it all, the flowers open every morning and bloom all day long, closing in the...

Butterfly weed a late-blooming beauty

One of the slowest of herbaceous perennials to emerge from the soil in spring is the Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) with its bright green foliage and its sunny orange flowers, but they are well worth waiting for! These native butterfly magnets love full sun and...

New hybrid peony a welcome addition

Tree Peonies bloom two weeks before the herbaceous perennial peonies, and then there is a new hybrid peony called Bartzella Itoh Peony, which blooms along with the herbaceous perennial peonies. The blooms are large bright yellow many petal with red flush in the center...

Bishops Hat a maple’s natural neighbor

Epimedium sulphureum or “Bishops Hat” is a shade loving deciduous groundcover that can thrive under the shade of maple trees. The plants only grow a foot tall and spread about a foot and a half wide. In early spring, the new heart shaped foliage emerges a light green...