Plant Profile: Swamp Azalea (Rhododendron viscosum)
Karen Also known as clammy azalea, and swamp honeysuckle, this flowering deciduous shrub is native to the wetlands of eastern and southern US and a member of the heath family, Ericaceae,…
Plant Profile: False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa)
This deciduous shrub is native to North America from eastern Canada throughout much of the US and into northern Mexico, where it grows along stream and pond edges, moist open…
Plant Profile: Hydrangea paniculata ‘Tarvida’
Hydrangea paniculata is a deciduous woody shrub growing up to 12′ tall. It is native to eastern and southern China, Japan, Sakhalin, Taiwan, and Kuril Island and belongs to the…
Book Review: The Very Hungary Caterpillar
Eric Carle’s book, The Very Hungary Caterpillar, follows the life of a caterpillar from egg to butterfly with a focus on all the eating the caterpillar must do to pull…
Genus: Illicium for the Garden
Illicium is a genus of 40- 50 species of broadleaf evergreen shrubs and small trees and belong to the the starvine family, Schisandraceae. They are found principally in east and…
Plant Profile: Sweet Box (Sarcococca confusa)
The evergreen shrub is a member of the boxwood family, Buxaceae, and probably native to western China. It grows 3-5′ tall and wide, is densely branched and has glossy leathery,…
Plant Profile: Littleleaf Lilac ‘Superba’ (Syringa pubescens subsp microphylla ‘Superba’)
Native to China, this flowering deciduous shrub is a member of the olive family, Oleaceae, that also includes privet, jasmine and forsythia. The shrub is bushy, grows up to 7′…
Plant Profile: Large Flowered St. John’s Wort (Hypericum kouytchense aka Hypericum patulum ‘Sungold’)
Native to western China, this bushy, rounded, semi-evergreen shrub is a member of the Hypericaceae plant family, best known for the herb, H. perforatum (common St. John’s wort). The plant…
Plant Profile: Night Blooming Phlox (Zaluzianskya ovata)
Native to Lesotho and South Africa, this semi-evergreen tender perennial is a member of the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, that also includes bacopa, verbascum, and cape fushia. The plant grows 1-2′…
Plant Profile: Doublefile Viburnum (Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum)
Native to China and Japan, this deciduous flowering shrub is a member of the moschatel family, Adoxaceae, that also includes elders. The shrub grows 8-10′ tall and has horizontal branching…