The Perennial Plant Association has named Geranium x cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’ the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2015. For starters, here is how it is pronounced: jer-AY-nee-um kan-tuh-brij-ee-EN-see bi-o-KO-vo. Notice that this is a perennial plant, not the potted annual geraniums that you buy by the dozen. ‘Biokovo’ has many wonderful qualities, and when I [Continue]
Marigolds have long held a place in flower beds, so much so that they have almost become overused. Still, they are perfect for formal beds, as they know their bounds and are clean, neat and upright, never sprawling in an ungainly manner or becoming leggy and untidy. Beginning gardeners often turn to marigolds because they [Continue]
I’ve never been a fan of variegated foliage plants – those whose leaves sport streaks or speckles of white, yellow, purple, red or light green. I also don’t care for unnatural looking streaks of color on flower petals. But when the first fall nursery catalog arrived in the mail in mid-June, I fell in love [Continue]
Last winter was brutal and this spring has been ugly, but the calendar says it’s planting time, so let’s review some shopping and planting basics. When buying annual flowers, veggie packs, or containerized perennial flowers, shrubs or trees, first pick up the container. It should feel solid, not too light for its size. A too-light [Continue]
The first thing I love about calibrachoa is the way its name rolls up and down: Kal-a-bra-KO-ah. Secondly, its gorgeous! Calibrachoas look like mini-petunias, or petunias without their tattered petticoats. Each plants has hundreds of inch-wide flowers giving rise to its common name, “Million Bells.” It’s an annual plant that comes to us from South [Continue]
The Perennial Plant Association has chosen Variegated Solomon’s Seal as its Perennial Plant of the Year for 2013. It’s a plant for shady woodland gardens or for a border in part to full shade. Morning sun is better than afternoon sun for this plant. Variegated Solomon’s Seal grows 18-24 inches tall and has long oval [Continue]
Several years ago a fellow Master Gardener asked the group for information on black flowers because she wanted to make a black garden. I was a bit worried about her state of mind, but also intrigued because I had never seen a black flower. This year’s seed catalogs offer a plethora of black flowers, so [Continue]
Native plants are those that were growing in a particular area when the first European settlers arrived. Many of these plants are still in existence and using them in our landscapes is a good idea for many reasons. Since native Wisconsin plants have been growing here for hundreds of years, they are uniquely adapted to [Continue]
This time of year, I cut the dried seedheads of the zinnias in my garden and save them to plant next spring. I’ve been saving and replanting these seeds for 29 summers now, and I got the first seeds from my mother, who had been saving them every year since she planted her first garden [Continue]
Chrysanthemums are gorgeous and spectacular and an easy way to provide bright splashes of color in your fall landscape. There are other perennial plants, however, that will hold a place in flowerbeds all summer and bring forth their blooms in fall. Just when everything else in your perennial bed has petered out, chelone, pronounced chee-LOW-nee, [Continue]