A quick word about Brunnera: It rocks

POSTED BY KIM — I’m cold and wet from working outside and unloading a truck, so I’m going to make this  a quick post so I can take a hot shower!
I wanted to share a picture of one of my favorite shade plants (do I say that every time I write about a shade plant??), [...]

The fairies were here

POSTED BY KIM — I know it’s Easter, but my eyes tell me the fairies have visited, not the Easter bunny.  Just look at these little abodes!  A new shipment of fairy doors has arrived with more styles than before.  The fairy carpenters really outdid themselves. 
Click on the images below to see them [...]

Now showing: Veronica ped. ‘Georgia Blue’

POSTED BY KIM — One of the few plants in my garden that’s in full bloom right now is the groundcover, Veronica peduncularis ‘Georgia Blue.’
It’s hard to find a true blue in the plant world.  A few that come to mind — Mertensia virginica Virginia bluebells, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Perennial plumbago, and this little beauty.
It stays [...]

Get creative: Enter Fine Gardening magazine’s container design contest

POSTED BY KIM — We all deserve to be recognized for our gardening prowess.  Here’s a chance to see that you are.  Fine Gardening magazine is hosting the “2009 Container Design Challenge” with two themes: fire and ice.
The deadline is August 15, 2009, so you have no excuses.
The entry guidelines say: “Use fiery reds, oranges, [...]

Virginia bluebells: a kaleidoscope of spring color

POSTED BY KIM — I can find something to appreciate about most flowers.  Maybe it blooms an especially long time, is really fragrant, or can withstand tough growing conditions.  But when it comes to flower color, I think the Virginia bluebell Mertensia virginica is in a class by itself.
Bonus: It’s native!  I always think of native flowers as [...]

Incredible Creeping Phlox

POSTED BY PEGGY: One blog posting is not enough about the incredible Creeping Phlox. Call it old fashioned or say “been there, done that”, but before you do, go to your window and tell me what is blooming in your garden today. No other perennial blooms this early with such a punch of color than [...]

There’s nothing lowly about the beautiful creeping phlox

POSTED BY KIM — Once again, my neighbors Peter and Renata have the prettiest yard on the street.  They have a bed right in front of their house that is swathed with creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) and grape hyacinth.  The story is, when they first bought the house 50 years ago, the phlox was already [...]

How cute are these fiddleheads??

POSTED BY KIM — I was moving some plants around at work yesterday when I spotted these fiddleheads (baby ferns) on this Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides).  For those adventurous eaters (at least in my book), here is a collection of fiddlehead recipes.
It’s hard to believe these fuzzy silver fronds will transform into the tough, native, evergreen [...]

The secret to growing fabulous peonies

POSTED BY KIM — Everybody loves a beautiful peony!  And they’re quite easy to grow, if you do a few things right.
First things first — two of the most popoular kinds of peonies are the herbaceous variety, that dies back to the ground every winter (Paeonia lactiflora), and tree peonies (Paeonia suffruticosa), which lose their [...]

Don’t Monkey Around: It’s time to trim your Monkey Grass

POSTED BY PEGGY: Monkey grass is also know as  Lily Turf or Liriope Grass.  Liriope is pronounced (lir-RYE-oh-pee).  I find it one of the hardest plant names to pronouce.  It doesn’t roll off the tongue like other botanical names. I’ve heard lots of interesting interpretations over the years.
Liriope is a tough groundcover plant. It survives in full sun or [...]