Plant Profile: Jacobinia (Justicia carnea)
Karen Jacobinia, also known as flamingo plant, is an upright evergreen shrub native to Brazil. It has coarse, dark green, heavily veined leaves, and produces plumes of tubular flowers in white,…
Plant Combination: Common Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis) and Siberian Bugloss (Brunnera macrophylla)
This classic combination of bleeding heart with Siberian bugloss is a beautiful late spring duo for a shady spot in the garden. The intense blue flowers of bugloss are the…
Native Plants for Full Shade: Herbaceous Perennials
Chuck An area in full shade can be a problem because it gets little direct sunlight if any and most plants need light to survive. Some plants, however, need less light…
Plant Profile: Oregon Grapeholly (Mahonia aquifolium)
This suckering clump-forming evergreen shrub is native to damp forests from British Columbia to Oregon but grows well in many parts of the country. Slow growing, the shrub is upright…
How to Choose Hydrangeas
The large flowerheads of hydrangea bring an old fashioned charm to a garden. The flowers may be white, pink, blue, or a shade of purple, they can be round or…
Plant Profile: ‘Red Racer’ (Helleborus ‘Red Racer’)
Hellebores are the one of the earliest flowers in spring to bloom and begin the gardening season. Most have white, lime-green, or pink to purple flowers, so ‘Red Racer’ is…
Plant Profile: Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
Grown for its glossy, leathery evergreen fronds, Christmas fern makes an attractive addition to a woodland garden all year long. It is clump-forming and compact, and stays neat looking all…
Plant Profile: ‘Silk Tassel’ Sedge (Carex morrowii temnolepis ‘Silk Tassel’)
The fine textured blades of this sedge look more like hair than leaves. They are white and green striped and look silvery en masse. The plants form a clumps up…
Plant Profile: Edmee Gold Boxleaf Honeysuckle (Lonicera nitida ‘Briloni’)
The name “honeysuckle” probably conjures up visions either of humming-bird magnets or invasive pests and this honeysuckle is neither. Edmee gold boxleaf honeysuckle is grown primarily for its beautiful chartreuse…
Native Plants as Groundcovers for Shade
Every garden seems to have places where a groundcover is needed. Often these places are problem areas due to such factors as shade, soil conditions, or slope. These places may…