Plant Profiles

Daphne bholua

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Daphne, the first love of Apollo, gave her name to a genus of shrubs as endearing as her flight from his embrace. She was transformed into a laurel tree to escape the god, so we crown champions with laurel (Laurus nobilis) wreaths. But for fragrance alone, there is no single genus of shrubs that I find more indispensable for the garden than Daphne...

Rose Hips

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Choose roses that readily set and ripen fruit for cheery points of interest in the fall garden.

The Gardener�s Blues

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

My notion of the perfect flower garden was formed early in life. I took it directly from a fanciful illustration of an English cottage garden in my nursery-rhyme book. I recall being enchanted by the towering spires of blue blooms—probably delphiniums, but possibly ladybells—before which Mistress Mary flounced contrarily down her garden path...

Plants for Dry Shade

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Dry shade is one of the most challenging garden sites. These plants thrive there.

A Late-Blooming Dogwood

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Gray dogwood (Cornus racemosa) blooms well after most dogwoods and other ornamental trees have finished flowering. It also provides good fall foliage and berries for birds.

Ferns from spores

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

There are no seeds, no cuttings, just spores released from the sori on a frond's underside. If the spores settle in a perfectly hospitable spot, they grow into prothallia, which look like liverworts...

Four Great Weeping Trees

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

To add grace and elegance to the garden, try planting a weeping tree. These four choices are particularly nice.

'Leonard Messel' Magnolia

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

'Leonard Messel' is a tough magnolia tree with purple buds and copious pink flowers.

Call of the Wild

Mon, 18 Oct 2004 00:00:00 GMT

After seven Job-like years of gardening, a group of tried-and-true plants remained steadfast through deluge, drought, wind, hail, record-breaking heat, and subzero winters. These became signature plants of the garden—I planted more, eager for dependable beauty. . . .

A Healthy Addiction

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

For pleasure and pain, no genus has been more visited than Nicotiana—tobacco. Chewed or inhaled, it is more widely used than any other stimulant except coffee...

Fantastic Floribunda Roses

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Steve Jones, president of the American Rose Society, tells what makes floribunda roses the best all-around roses. Read about their long bloom time and ease of care.

Clematis

Fri, 18 Oct 2002 00:00:00 GMT

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SPECIES CLEMATIS, (or clematis species, for they are the same thing) in a gardening context, we mean those clematis with usually quite tiny flowers, most of which are species, though some are crosses resembling species. . . .

Seeding a New Lawn

Wed, 18 Sep 2002 00:00:00 GMT

A SOFT PATCH OF LAWN provides a needed place for families and pets to sit and play as well as an agreeable foil to colorful borders. If your old lawn is worn and weedy, or you are putting in a new lawn, autumn is a perfect time of year to sow grass seed. . . .

Today's Low-Maintenance Roses

Fri, 18 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

It's easy to spot the low-maintenance roses of yesterday. They're the ones that are still here, planted by some long-gone gardener, growing and blooming even as new families—and interest in gardening—come and go. . . .

Gardeners in the Deep South

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Gardeners in the Deep South face some challenges unique to their region. Well known are the discomforts of outdoor work in the heat of summer, and the persistence of weed and insect pests due to the long growing season. Another problem is the extreme vigor of climbers and vines...

Impatiens Await

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Look past the familiar bedding annuals for a host of exciting options

Sunny Delights

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Everything changed for me with the first batch of catalogs I received from the daffodil specialists. To my astonishment, none were from Holland, but instead came from Oregon, Northern Ireland, England, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Unfamiliar with practically every entry, I was immediately taken in by the refinement of form and the expanded range of colors seen in some of their flowers.

Three Kinds of Redtwig Dogwoods

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Well-Behaved Bamboo

Mon, 18 Jul 2005 00:00:00 GMT

"The borindas are coming on as a big deal," says Jackie Heinricher, proprietor of the wholesale bamboo nursery Boo-Shoot Gardens. If you can picture a 35- to 45-foot-tall, noninvasive timber bamboo with powder blue canes, you'll have an idea why Borinda boliana will storm the market when it is released in 2006. . . .

Grow Passionflowers as Houseplants

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Many of these exotic plants do well in pots on the windowsill.

Iris cycloglossa

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Iris cycloglossa is a hardy bulb with blue flowers and a spicy scent.

Winter-Blooming Snowdrops

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

During the bleak winter months, snowdrops, a flowering bulb, offer the promise of spring.

Drying Herbs

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Using home-dried herbs is a delightful way to bring the flavor and aroma of your summer garden to winter meals. Drying herbs is an easy and satisfying project, requiring little in the way of equipment or time...

Alocasia 'Hilo Beauty'

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This elephant ear's heart-shaped, apple-green leaves are generously dappled with large creamy yellow blotches.

�Sapphire Skies� Yucca

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Powder-blue foliage and ease-of-care make ‘Sapphire Skies’ yucca a keeper.

Crinums

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Like peonies in the northern United States, which often outlive the gardener who planted them, crinums have deep roots in the South. They thrive in salty sand 600 feet from the Atlantic and in sticky clay at long-abandoned homesites, delighting ghosts and passing travelers with their lush leaves and fragrant summer flowers...

Plants We Love: Origanum �Kent Beauty�

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This ornamental oregano is an excellent choice for containers and window boxes.

Climbing Flowering Annuals

Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Annual climbing plants grow fast and flower within the year, making them ideal subjects for providing a quick, temporary screen in the garden.

Flashes of Color

Fri, 18 Apr 2003 00:00:00 GMT

I have seen the future of siberian irises, and it's in Carlisle, Massachusetts. . . .

The Bigger, The Better

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We've all heard the expression "you can't see the forest for the trees." Though it refers to one's perspective on life, it does apply to the horticultural arts as well. . . .

Bush Clover, A Late Bloomer

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Bush clover lights up the August garden with cascading purple flowers.

Herbs With Scented Leaves

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Plant these scented-leaf herbs throughout the garden and in containers to enjoy their refreshing fragrance as you garden or relax on the patio.

Rose Classifications Explained

Mon, 04 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Confused by terms like Hybrid Tea Rose, Grandiflora Rose, Floribunda Rose and other like them? This article explains the differences between rose classes and gives tips on the care and use of the different types of roses.

Red-Branched Moosewood Maple

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The branches of moosewood maple ( Acer pensylvanicum ‘Erythrocladum’) turn a glowing salmon red once the weather gets cold.

Viburnum xbodnantense

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Shrubby Dogwoods

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

These stems provide color and luster, all year

Hardy Boxwood

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

There are plenty of boxwood choices for the colder zones.

The Dwarf Daphnes

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Dwarf daphnes are small shrubs that offer a large dose of beauty and fragrance with their spring flowers

Quiet Clematis

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

North America is home to over two dozen species of clematis, but very few of these are found in gardens. Our native species lack the big, blowsy blooms of the garden hybrids, producing instead demure, understated flowers. To compare the two is to compare a raucous pop song with a gentle fiddle tune. Both are satisfying in their own way, and both have a place in the garden...

Hoyas: Great Houseplants

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

With striking fragrant flowers and little care needed, hoyas are the perfect houseplant.

Cornus 'Midwinter Fire'

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ is a plant for all seasons—including winter.

Magnolia sieboldii

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The four species that belong to the section Oyama of the genus Magnolia–M. sieboldii, M. globosa, M. wilsonii, and M. sinensis–share a set of traits that makes them easy to recognize (if not to distinguish from one another). All are relatively small-growing deciduous trees native eastern Asia that bear white, rounded, nodding or pendent flowers, opening from egg-shaped buds in late spring or early summer after the foliage has appeared...

Witherod Viburnum: A Bright-Berried Shrub

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This viburnum’s berries turn a variety of shades, including pink.

All-America Hybrid Tea Roses

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

ALL-AMERICA ROSE SELECTIONS, INCORPORATED, a nonprofit research organization, was founded in 1938 for the purpose of evaluating new roses thought to be worthy of a special stamp of approval. Except for 1951, when no selection was made, All-America Rose Selections have been designated every year since 1940...

Deciduous Hedges

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

These deciduous shrubs make attractive, easy-care hedges.

Native Ferns for the Shade Garden

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Invasives List

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In his series on invasive plants, C. Colston Burrell discusses many plants that can take over the landscape. Here he provides two lists of additional plants to be wary of...

Marvelous Milkweeds

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Not all Milkweeds Deserve the Group’s Bad Rap.

Prairie Dropseed

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Prairie dropseed is a bunchgrass, forming a flowing mound of shiny, emerald green, narrow foliage about 15 to 18 inches high and two feet wide.

Weeds to whack in the Winter

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A winter walk in the woods sounds like a nice idea. But there are bad characters out there, attacking our native flora...

The Echinacea Factor

Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Unless you pulled a mini Rip Van Winkle over the last four years, you’ve watched a revolution take place in the genus Echinacea. We now enjoy orange and peach petals, sweet fragrance and more. From where did these extreme echinaceas come? Here’s a brief history.

Agaves, At Last

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The hottest trend in container gardening has its roots in a group of plants that for over 7,000 years delineated the agricultural and cultural progression of Mexico. Throughout its history, the genus Agave supplied food, drink, and materials for building and weaving, and held religious significance...

Plants for Spring "Bling"

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Right now a visit to my favorite garden center sits high on my agenda. I’m in search of plants that dazzle in the spring, some luscious colors, great foliage, and unusual shapes—a bit of horticultural “bling.” If I choose the right jewels, the garden will look even better next year...

Heleniums

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Links to Helenium information.

The Next Classic Lilacs

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Today we have available from nurseries a number of other species and their hybrids that offer not only sweet-smelling blooms but splendid habit and leaves that stay fresh and healthy all summer. Some of them also color handsomely in autumn...

Field Notes: Ohio Valley

Sun, 18 Aug 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Maybe it's the heat, but Allen Bush can't imagine a better place to garden than Louisville, Kentucky. Here he reminds us that the hottest days of summer are for simple tasks.

The genus Aloe

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The genus Aloe merits wider use, be it in a potted collection or in mixed plantings. More than any other plant, aloe vera is an icon of the 1960s and ’70s (at least within the realm of legality). It grew on nearly every countercultured windowsill in North America, offering its gelatinous sap to be smeared or swallowed for every known malady...

NEW INTRODUCTIONS 2002

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

New flowers and vegetables introduced in 2002

Crinum 'Mrs. James Hendry'

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

'Mrs James Hendry' is a crinum bulb with sturdy flower stalks.

Gardening with Enkianthus Shrubs

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Enkianthus are shrubs that flower in the spring, covering themselves with delicate bell-shaped dangling blooms. They also offer vivid fall foliage color. This article describes good enkianthus species and how to grow them.

The Invasive Problem , Understanding the Issue - Part One

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Our quest for plants from around the globe has enriched our gardens and brought us important food plants. At the same time, we have unwittingly created some devastating ecological consequences...

Garden Worthy - Monkshoods

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The genus Aconitum is a sinister one, containing some of the most poisonous plants in the world, a fact known about them since ancient times. The common name for garden varieties, monkshood, comes from the curious cowl or hooded shape of the flowers, though the plant is also known as wolf's bane. Some species were long ago ground into powder and mixed with meat to poison wolves...

Winter's Green Wonders

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

A garden needn’t look doornail dead in winter. One cold, windy day last January I took a stroll around my northern Alabama garden (USDA Zone 7), notebook in hand. I found a few blooms (winter aconite, Lenten rose, and even an odd scattering of ‘King Alfred’ daffodils), but I was struck by how many herbaceous perennials presented lush, interesting winter foliage...

See-Through Plants

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

In mid-winter, I value strong but supple structural plants. Their movements in the winter wind play with the slanting light, in a view that gets me through the year’s shortest days...

Plants for fall color

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

When the temperature cools I want color: purple daisies, pink grass plumes, gleaming blue fruits, and the brightest of leaves...

Geum coccineum

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Scarlet avens (Geum coccineum) has bright red flowers and interesting leaves.

The Invasive Problem, Choosing Alternatives - Part 2

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Invasive species alter the structure and function of ecosystems and displace native plants. When we design a landscape, aesthetics often rule our choices, but it is equally important to consider each plant’s potential to invade...

A Man Obsessed with Alliums

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

If he wanted to, Mark Mcdonough could fashion a soup a l'oignon with a most exalted pedigree. It might contain rare onions from almost every part of the Northern Hemisphere-from Turkey, China, Tajikistan, Norway, Israel, or various regions of this country. McDonough has grown well over a hundred different Allium species, so the possibilities for culinary exploration are huge...

Restios: Great Grassy Plants

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Restios are textural, colorful grasses for gardens or containers.

'Leonard Messel' Magnolia

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

'Leonard Messel' is a tough magnolia tree with purple buds and copious pink flowers.

'Lemon Queen' Sunflower

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

'Lemon Queen' is a dazzling perennial sunflower that blooms in late summer.

Spring Vetchling

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Spring vetchling (Lathyrus vernus) blooms early, with red or pink sweet pea flowers.

Plants that nature never made

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

What gardener hasn’t wished for the impossible: cobalt blue roses, frost-hardy petunias, lawn grass that never needs mowing? In hindsight, maybe we should have been more careful what we wished for. These wishes and more may soon come true, in the form of transgenic ornamental plants...

Winter Hazels

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Winter hazels are among the first shrubs to bloom at winter's end, with sweetly scented yellow flowers.

Plant This: Sweet Peas

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

An Alaskan gardener's thoughts on this classic, flower.

Happy Valleys

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Adored and spurned by gardeners, lily of the valley (Convallaria spp.) is the most familiar member of the family that bears its name (Convallariaceae). . . . Lily of the valley's relations—Solomon's plume and mayflower (Maianthemum spp.) and a host of others, including Solomon's seal (Polygonatum spp.)—are less storied but no less garden worthy. . . .

Plant This: Ironweed

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Looking for a plant that can hold its own?

Christmas Fern

Tue, 18 Dec 2001 00:00:00 GMT

With its deep green, undivided pinnae (a pinna is the primary division or "leaflet" of a frond), Christmas fern falls toward the bold end of the fern spectrum . . .

Wonderful Wood Ferns

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Reading fern descriptions can be as tedious as wading through the Smiths in a phone book. Frond for frond, most people think they all look the same. Not wood ferns (Dryopteris spp.)...

Hydrangea arborescens

Sat, 18 Aug 2001 00:00:00 GMT

It's easy sometimes to take a good plant for granted. I don't think I fully appreciated the ornamental potential of smooth hydrangea until I saw it in Helen Dillon's superb garden in Dublin, Ireland . . .

Chilean Blue Crocus

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The rare Chilean blue crocus is a collector's item.

Lilium henryi

Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Henry's lily (Lilium henryi) is an easy-to-grow, late-blooming lily.

One Plant Five Ways: Sources

Mon, 18 Oct 2004 00:00:00 GMT

In our September/October 2004 issue, Carol Klein places different species of Euphorbia with in combination with five different "supporting casts" of plants. Here, find retail mail-order sources for the plants featured in each combination. . . .