Plant Profile: Rue Anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)
Karen The delicate flowers of rue anemone are held in clusters of three to five flowers with the center flower being larger than the lateral ones. They are borne on slender…
How to Cut Down Ornamental Grasses for the Spring Clean
The spring clean up involves many tasks but none that I hate more than cutting down the large ornamental grasses like pampas grass or Miscanthus. The dried leaves, stalks and…
Plant Profile: Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
When I read the Wind in the Willow to my granddaughter I envision the woodland where the animals wander filled with these delicate flowers. The white to pale pink flowers…
Garden Journal: April 4, 2010
Heavy rain and temperatures in the 80s have really made the plants happy and they are popping out all over. The full blossoming forsythia, Yoshino cherry, and Bradford pear are…
Plant Profile: Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Bradford’)
The symmetrical pyramidal form of Bradford pears is so picturesque that homeowners find it difficult to resist planting them. Their early spring bloom on the perfectly shaped trees is so…
Plant Profile: Yoshino Flowering Cherry (Prunus x yedoensis)
If you have ever seen these trees in bloom around the Tidal Basin in Washington, D. C. you will know why people flock to that city to enjoy the magnificent…
Understanding Tender Perennials
Some of our most useful plants in the summer garden are tender perennials. Many of them provide abundant color for a long period of time but unfortunately they die when…
Plant Profile: Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia)
Nothing announces the coming of spring better than the blooming of forsythia. Even in dead winter this tough shurb is ready to go as soon as a warm spell comes…
Garden Journal: March 28, 2010
A warm week has brought some of our shrubs and trees to flowers, joining a few spring bulbs. Most of the garden, however, is stirring but not rushing into bloom…
Plant Profile: Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica)
A carpet of Virginia Bluebells in spring is a magnificent sight! These clump forming native plants colonize and naturalize readily providing beauty to a woodland garden for about 3 weeks…