Sweet Annie, Artemisia annua, is an herb I remember from the seventies and eighties. Intensely fragrant smelling green herb wreaths were made up in the fall from the cut branches and I would see them everywhere for sale at craft fairs and outdoor festivals. I kind of forgot about Sweet Annie for a long time …
Continue reading "Sweet Annie – Versatile Aromatic Everlasting"
Spring perennial bloomers are easy. There are so many great spring performers that you always have something blooming all spring long with little effort. Fall can be a little trickier to have a constant parade of colorful bloomers, and I always am looking for new candidates and old favorites. Mums and asters are the usual …
Continue reading "Top 10 Seasonal Stars of the Fall Garden"
Native container gardens are much easier to put together than full sized gardens. If you are new to gardening or have limited space, natives in pots are a gateway to sustainable gardening on a larger scale. Placed alone or in groups, containers are versatile little packages that can be moved around at will and easy …
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Liking to cook, garden and design, when I noticed these beautiful focaccia breads all over the internet, I had to make some. It makes sense to decorate focaccias, as they are a blank canvas waiting to be adorned with art- edible art! Focaccias have always been my favorite easy-to-make bread in my bread machine and …
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With just over 1000 varieties, Salvia is a huge genus in the mint family, and comes in a dizzying variety of colors, sizes, and hardiness. Annual, perennial, biennial, or shrubs, most of the varieties have stunning and colorful flowers and fragrant foliage. Tolerating a wide variety of soils and conditions, Salvias need minimal water to …
Continue reading "Favorite Salvias of a Garden Designer"
Turf grass lawns are an American tradition. Everyone who has any kind of yard or property aspires to having a perfect green manicured carpet. But as we now know, grass can be a dead zone for native insects and birds, devoid of any nutrition or habitat for native species. Mowing, watering, fertilizing, and pest controls …
Continue reading "No Mow May-Planting a Pollinator Friendly Lawn"
Accolades from people in the know – mostly horticulturalists and native plant people – extolling the perennial Indian Pink, Spigelia marilandica, are everywhere online and in print. Flying under the radar for many people, Indian Pink is coming into its own - finally. A long-lived perennial that brings stunning colors to the summer garden, hummingbirds …
Continue reading "Indian Pink- A Native Hummingbird Delight"
Have you seen a little yellow flower that you think is very cute blooming on your property??? It forms a ground covering mat of glossy green heart shaped leaves punctuated by buttercup like flowers. You might have looked at it and thought it was the first sign of spring! If your answer is yes, get …
Continue reading "Buttercup Bully – Beware!"
Hardy annual flowers have become known as “cool flowers” in the flower farming industry, where these types of plants will withstand cold and actually prefer cooler temperatures. In fact, when warmer weather begins in the early summer, these annuals will fizzle out from the heat. I have plants in my containers all year long and …
Continue reading "Welcome Spring With These Cool Season Flowers"
Road Trip!! Do you want a plant buying road trip to a run-of-the-mill big box store with the same old, same old? Or do you want personal attention in picking out that perfect plant? Do you have shady areas in your garden that need TLC and want the ideal plant for that perfect spot? Look …
Continue reading "Happy Hollow Nursery – Shade Plant Nirvana"
