Ferns a simple pleasure of August
When the heat of August simmers high, one of the best places to be outside is in the cool shade of trees that have a carpet of green ferns. One of the loveliest ferns for the Eastern Shore is the Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) which also has the added...
Spider lily a constant burst of blooms
The spider lily, or tradescantia virginiana or Virginia spiderwort, is a native herbaceous perennial that thrives in almost any sunny or lightly shady garden. The tiny bright blue-purple flowers open up in the early morning and last only one day, but there are so many...
Purple cone flowers love summer sun
Echinacea purpurea, or Purple Cone Flower, is a wonderful sun-loving native herbaceous perennial that grows from 1 1/2 feet tall to 5 feet tall, depending on the variety. They bloom the whole month of June and into August, brightening the garden with their large,...
May is prime time for candytuft
May is when the evergreen Iberis sempervirens or Candytuft are in full flower on the Eastern Shore, some starting as early as March or April and continuing to bloom for up to 10 weeks. The evergreen foliage provides a dark rich shiny green to the edges of sunny...
Early bloomers get the party started
April is when spring really starts to bloom! Spring, to me, is always a treasure hunt — walking around the gardens and seeing what is up and blooming as well. A few of the plants that bloom include Phlox subulata (Moss Phlox), Aurinia saxatilis (Basket of Gold),...
Bulbs are ready to flower
March is a time for spring bulbs to spike out of the soil and unfurl into bloom. After months of cold, dark winter weather, seeing color in the garden is always a guarantee that spring is close. The bulbs that were planted in the fall have had time to go through their...
Beware of snow’s weight on plants
February can be chilly, snowy or both, but many plants don’t mind the wintery weather at all. Some plants, however, do need a bit of attention if snow does drop too heavily out of the sky and onto our landscape. Boxwoods have very bendable branches, but if heavy wet...
African violets offer fuzzy reception
African Violets (Saintpaulia) traditionally came with dark fuzzy green leaves and five blue-petal flowers. Plant breeders have enjoyed creating fuzzy green leaves that are edged with white, green and white splashed leaves and leaves that start out pink and green that...
Bald cypress a faux evergreen
By Ginny Rosenkranz The Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) is an interesting native tree that looks like it should be an evergreen, but in the late fall of the year the slender green needles turn a soft cinnamon orange/brown color then fall completely off the tree,...
Winterberry preparing for winter show
by Ginny Rosenkranz Ilex verticillata, also known as winterberry, is a beautiful native holly whose leaves turn a soft yellow in the fall before it loses all its leaves in November to display a huge number of large, brilliant berries that shine in the garden for...
