Tag Archives: native plants

Grow Your Own Fall Flowers and Other Decorations

April 12, 2015 | Gardening Jones | 0

Many of the colors of autumn that we use to adorn our homes can easily be grown in the home garden. Bonus: You get to decide what they are, and you can have the most unique display!

Buttonbush: The Shrub That Has It All

April 12, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis), is a United States–native shrub with so much to offer. This four-season shrub adapts easily to various soil types and provides essential food to bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects. Its year-round interest, low maintenance requirements …

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Engelmann’s Daisy Is a Tough and Pretty Native Plant

April 5, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love Engelmann’s daisy (Engelmannia peristenia) for its yellow flowers and gray foliage. This yellow summer bloomer is a roadside wildflower native to the southern Great Plains. Its seeds feed wild birds. Engelmann’s daisy is being honored as a …

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Yellow Carolina Lupine Is an Easy Native Perennial

March 23, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love Carolina lupine (Thermopsis villosa) for its lemony yellow flowers that appear in late spring to early summer. This Mid-South native plant puts up with heat and drought, supports beneficial insects and songbirds and provides materials for cut-flower …

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Desert Beardtongue Attracts Hummingbirds and Hawkmoths

March 10, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love desert beardtongue (Penstemon pseudospectabilis) for its vivid purple-pink flowers and its drought tolerance. This penstemon’s flowers serve as a food source for bees, hummingbirds and hawkmoths as well as other insects. Desert beardtongue is being honored as …

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Grow Silky Rock Jasmine in Rock Gardens or Troughs

March 3, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love ‘Chumbyi’ silky rock jasmine (Androsace sarmentosa ‘Chumbyi’) for its fuzzy foliage and fragrant pink flowers. This semi-evergreen miniature perennial is perfect for a rock garden, stone-wall planting or year-round containers dedicated to other alpine plants, such as …

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Cherish Black Oak for Its Spring and Fall Color

February 24, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love black oak (Quercus velutina) for its yellow spring catkins, red new leaves and colorful fall foliage. This native tree tolerates poor, dry soil and supports wildlife. This tree is being honored in 2015 by Nebraska’s GreatPlants program …

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Durable Desert Moss Takes Foot Traffic and Drought

February 2, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love ‘Wallowa Mountain’ desert moss (Arenaria ‘Wallowa Mountain’) because it is an evergreen, exceptionally short and compact groundcover native to Oregon that resembles moss yet is very drought tolerant. Superb for xeric and fairy gardens, permanent containers, between …

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Red Pine Is a Hardier Alternative to White Pine

January 26, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love red pine (Pinus resinosa) for its extreme cold hardiness and its tolerance of poor garden sites, an advantage over white pine. This native evergreen develops reddish bark with age. Red pine is the state tree of Minnesota …

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Giant Sacaton Is an Impressive Ornamental Grass All Winter

January 13, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love giant sacaton (Sporobolus wrightii) for its hardiness and its upright habit, which it retains throughout winter. A Southwest native, it tolerates heat and drought too. This species of Sporobolus has been named Ornamental Grass of the Year …

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‘Woodward’ Is a Juniper that Grows Tall and Skinny

January 6, 2015 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: We love ‘Woodward’ juniper (Juniperus scopulorum ‘Woodward’) for its tall, narrow shape, which makes it an ideal accent for small spaces or for use as a hedge or windbreak. This snow- and wind-tolerant evergreen is a Plant Select honoree …

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