Supporting Our Local Garden Clubs
Spring Beauty Sparks Thoughts of ‘Friends’ Never Met
How often do we associate a relative, a friend or perhaps even a person we never actually knew with a plant? The plant need not be large or overly showy, but somehow the sight or mention of the plant brings forth thoughts of that person. For me it happens all the time and the memories provide a lot of joy as I garden!…
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The Beauty of Bloodroot
The garden truly awakens during the month of April. The once bare earth suddenly comes alive with a bevy of flowering bulbs and perhaps even a few spring ephemerals. Most gardeners understand how to effectively work bulbs into a garden, but many remain puzzled over the use of spring ephemerals. By definition, this group of plants emerge in early spring, flower, set seed and enter into dormancy by the start of summer, very similar to most bulbs…
Grape Hyacinths – Time for a Fresh Look
At no fault of their own, some plants develop a love/hate relationship with gardeners. They are very deserving garden plants, yet after years of being heavily used our interest in the plant simply dwindles. We also fail to take note of any new and interesting selections, as we peruse nursery lists. For me, Grape Hyacinth or Muscari, as it is known botanically typifies this problem…
Sciadopitys – A Beautiful Plant That May Fool You
I cannot recall how many times I have failed to understand the very basic parts of plant anatomy, even when it appeared so obvious! For example, I once thought Asters had petals typical of most flowering plants. I was wrong. With Dogwoods, I mistakenly thought the showy flowers had petals and I was only partially correct in thinking Magnolia flowers had petals. Yes, it no longer comes as a surprise when I am wrong. However, I was totally surprised to learn the beautiful, glossy ‘foliage’ of the Japanese Umbrella Pine, botanically known as Sciadopitys verticillata is not true foliage at all!…
Candytuft – A Smart Evergreen for Generations to Come
The qualities of what makes a plant garden worthy are always changing and my personal sentiments are certainly no different! As a beginning gardener, I was drawn to the ‘latest and greatest’ and discounted the more ‘seasoned plants’ at my grandparent’s home as no longer garden worthy. As I have watched plants come and go over the decades, I am continually frustrated by the disappearance of some great, garden-worthy plants to make way for the next round of the ‘latest and greatest’…
