Tag Archives: year-round interest

Groundcover Junipers New for 2017

April 25, 2017 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Even as spring-blooming bulbs, perennials and flowering shrubs build toward their peak of glory in the spring garden, we can’t help but praise a couple of groundcover junipers that are new from Monrovia this year. Get them onto your spring …

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Rhododendrons: Spring Planting and Care Tips

April 3, 2017 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Rhododendrons are never more noticeable than in spring, when they cover themselves with blooms. It’s enough to inspire you to plant more rhodies in your garden. Here are tips for siting and planting these shade-tolerant favorites, plus spring care tips …

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Use White Spruce to Regulate Winter Weather

February 28, 2017 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: White spruce, named Evergreen of the Year by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum’s GreatPlants for the Great Plains program, is a valuable tree in winter. It is useful as a windbreak, hedge, screen or even as a cut or living …

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Witch Hazel, Winter Hazel: What’s the Difference?

December 13, 2016 | Meghan Shinn | 0

With their similar common names and some similar characteristics, winter hazel and witch hazel can be easy to confuse. Here are the differences between these treasured shrubs that flower when little else is in bloom.

Native Big Bluestem Grass Shines in the Fall

November 15, 2016 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: Once the iconic, dominant grass of the tallgrass prairie but now all too rare, big bluestem can offer a strong sense of place in planted landscapes. It can grow to 8 feet in moist soils, but it develops slowly …

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Little Goblin Winterberry Holly Is a Small Colorful Shrub

October 25, 2016 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: Little Goblin winterberry holly offers the vivid berries of this favorite deciduous holly, but on a compact shrub that fits small spaces much better than other winterberry varieties. There’s a red-berried Little Goblin and one with orange berries for …

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A Small Arborvitae Alternative to Alberta Spruce

September 13, 2016 | Meghan Shinn | 0

Virtues: ‘Filip’s Magic Moment’ is a small arborvitae that provides exciting and dependable foliage color all year-round. It can be grown in large containers or in the ground. Topping out at 6 to 8 feet tall, this small arborvitae makes …

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Go for the Gold Plants in the Garden

August 1, 2016 | Meghan Shinn | 1

The Summer Olympics open this Friday. While the world’s top athletes covet the gold medal, think about adding golden plants to your garden!

A Plant to Love: ‘Dallas Blues’ Switchgrass

July 21, 2016 | Jennifer Smith | 0

High Country Gardens is a fan of ‘Dallas Blues’ switchgrass, stating, “Panicum virgatum ‘Dallas Blues’ is among the finest of our native ornamental grasses.” And Plants Delights calls it “among the most stunning forms ever selected.” This vase-shaped blue-hued grass …

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American Hornbeam Dresses Up the Understory

April 26, 2016 | Jennifer Smith | 0

We love this native tree that offers up an abundance of color as well as fascinating bark. Ideally suited for the woodland understory, the tree is at home in the part shade to full shade. In the spring, leaves emerge …

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Exploring Conifers – Garden Trekking

December 18, 2015 | Jennifer Smith | 0

In the Jan/Feb issue of Horticulture, we featured a conifer on the cover and a feature story on the benefits of adding these workhorses of the landscape to your garden. I have been thinking a lot about conifers and wondering …

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