I went to my favorite nursery to buy plants on probably the worst possible day this spring – the Friday night before Mother’s Day. Nevertheless, I found everything I wanted surprisingly quickly and made my way to the checkout. The place is a little old-school and doesn’t have a scanner or a screen displaying [Continue]
The Perennial Plant Association has chosen Calamintha nepeta, common name calamint, as its 2021 Perennial Plant of the Year. Calamint boasts a confetti-like cloud of tiny white tubular flowers sometimes touched with blue or lilac. It has a low, mounding, bushy form that grows 18” tall and wide. Both the flowers and the [Continue]
It’s planting time! You might think that a strange beginning for an October article, perhaps more appropriate for May. But there is no mistake. Mid-October is the time to plant bulbs of many spring-bloomers as well as garlic. Perhaps more planting is the last thing you feel like doing at the end of a [Continue]
It’s hard for many people to understand, but there are some of us who love winter. If you are one who would rather think about winter from a distance of six months or so, or if you’d like to experiment with a unique theme garden next year, here are some plants you might include [Continue]
Bee balm is a pretty perennial lavender-colored flower native to Wisconsin prairies. It goes by a few other names including monarda, wild bergamot and Oswego tea. The Latin name is Monarda fistulosa. Another native bee balm, Monarda didyma boasts bright scarlet flowers. Lavender bee balm flowers are about three inches across while the scarlet ones [Continue]
By the time you read this, it will likely be safe to plant flower and vegetable transplants and seeds. Do check the forecast for the next week or so before planting though, just to make sure a cold snap isn’t imminent. Here are a few planting tips. When planting transplants from the nursery, first give [Continue]
Have you noticed a little blue and red “AAS Winner” logo on some of the flower and vegetable photos in mail order nursery catalogs? Have you wondered what that means and how a particular plant earns that designation? AAS stands for All-American Selection. The AAS designation is like the Good Housekeeping Seal of [Continue]
Woodlands are magnificent places in early spring as ephemeral wildflowers blanket the forest floor. Here are just a few of the beauties you might see on your trek through the woods. Skunk Cabbage Skunk cabbage grows along streams and wetlands and is the first wildflower up in spring, sometimes even pushing through ice and snow. [Continue]
What are some good plants for shade gardens? The first answers to that question that come to mind for most people are hostas and ferns, right? There are better answers to the question. Native woodland plants provide beauty as well as ecological services in the form of food and shelter for insects, birds and larger [Continue]
The Perennial Plant Association has named Allium ‘Milenium’ its 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year. Like most alliums, ‘Milenium’ grows upright on a stiff stem topped by a perfectly round sphere of tiny flowers called umbels. ‘Milenium’s’ are rose-purple and last for up to four weeks, much longer than many perennial plant flowers. Better [Continue]