It’s Time to Twist and Shout

POSTED BY PEGGY:  Hydrangea ‘Twist and Shout’ is the latest in the everblooming Endless Summer Series of Big Leaf Hydrangeas.  Endless Summer Hydrangeas bloom on old wood (last year’s growth) and new wood (this year’s growth).  This means if you accidently prune your Big Leaf Hydrangea or a cold winter kills last year’s growth, it will [...]

Incredible Edible of the Week: cilantro ‘Delfino’

POSTED BY CALEB – Look, look, everybody – we have ‘Delfino’ cilantro!  This great little plant is a ferny-leaved version of cilantro.  It tastes and smells just the same as regular cilantro, but it’s easier to use in the kitchen and resists bolting for longer than the standard variety.  This great little plant performed so [...]

Yellow Impatiens: fun, fresh, tropical and exotic

POSTED BY PEGGY: I just love the Fusion Glow Exotic Impatiens. They are soft yellow with a orange eye.  I paired mine up with a yellow striped Hosta, multi colored Coleus and a gorgeous yellow Nonstop Begonia. I love the way they look in my green ceramic pot with the red drip.
 
The Fusion Impatiens series [...]

Herby Salad with Flower Petals

I’m following up on the calendula post with this photo of my lunch salad.  The base was lettuce (Breen, Outback, and Rouge Grenobloise, for those who worry about such things) with roughly torn leaves of mint and parsley.  Then, I broke up some chive and calendula flowers and tossed the individual florets over.  All from [...]

Looking for a shady groundcover with lots of texture? Try sweet woodruff.

POSTED BY KIM — We have lots of shade gardeners in our area — lots of big trees — so I’m always up for the challenge when someone comes in with a problem area and they assume the worst — like they might be stuck having to plant ivy or <gasp> more hostas.
A great little [...]

For the woodland garden, Solomon’s Seal is required

POSTED BY KIM — I justed wanted to share some pictures of my Solomon’s seal.  I planted a quart-sized plant three years ago, and this is what it looks like today.
Solomon’s Seal — or Polygonatum – is a very graceful, understated plant, I think — no flashy red or orange flowers here.  Just these dainty [...]

My favorite clematis: Rooguchi

POSTED BY KIM — We first started carrying Clematis ‘Rooguchi’ last year, and I kept walking by these vines with their sweet, bell-shaped flowers — and I just couldn’t stand it.  I remember when the first a bud opened, I carried the plant upstairs to our offices at the nursery to show everyone.  They’re so unusual.
At the end [...]

My Garden, part 4

For the first five years of my gardening career, I stuck solely to ornamentals.  I planted the mixed borders, dabbled in woodland gardening, and wandered dizzily through the fragrant world of roses.  But, all along, I felt an uneasy sense of frivolity.  Down in the country, where I live, the word “garden” refers, not to [...]

My front door is giving birth

POSTED BY KIM — I overhead my kids talking about the bird’s nest on the front door — more specifically, in the *wreath* on the front door.  So my husband says (in crabby dad voice), “I think it’s time we took the wreath down because it’s attracting too much wildlife.”  He doesn’t know it, but I [...]

What is that Weed, and how did it get into my garden?

I’ve been a very good weeder the last couple of years.  I’m determined to eliminate all of the unwanted weeds from my backyard.  First it was the morning glory seedlings. They were everywhere.  I started the whole thing a few years ago.  In an attemt to hide a chain link fence, I planted Morning Glory [...]