The ups and downs of the gardening world.
'Jeana' Phlox is one of the top pollinator attracting plants in my garden in the dog days of summer. Attracting dozens of butterflies and other assorted bees, my patch starts in the late morning with a few butterflies and by the end of the heat of the day, the plants look like they are fluttering …
Continue reading "Jeana Phlox-Pollinator Super Star"
Whats blooming in my garden? Elderberries!! The sweet umbels of creamy colored flowers that can reach 12" across are so fragrant and have a unique smell, kind of like floral, creamy, and summery all in one package! All cultivars look very similar with their shrub-like plant structure, compound leaves, and big, beautiful clusters of white …
Continue reading "Elderberry-Growing and Using a Versatile Herb"
Medicinal, Culinary, Cosmetic, and Aromatic Ah....The fragrance of lavender! Evoking many memories, like wandering through blooming fields of lavender on a hot summer day buzzing with bees. This is one herb that if I were on a desert island, I would want to grow! Growing lavender in my garden every year is essential and I …
Continue reading "Queen of Herbs-Lavender"
Working outside I encounter a lot of unusual pests and annoyances. One of my most despised pests is the Tomato Hornworm. Tomato Hornworms are really big green alien-like caterpillars that can munch through and devastate your vegetable  garden. Nondescript brown moths lay pearl-like eggs on your tomato, pepper, or eggplant, from which the big green monsters …
Continue reading "Don’t Kill That Tomato Hormworm!!"
Growing your own food sounds like a great way to save money — until you spend a ton of money on soil and plants (not to mention a ton of time), only to end up with one measly tomato. Is growing your own food unrealistic, or can you really start a garden without spending a …
Continue reading "Gardening the Easy Way: No-Fuss Tips for Beginning Gardeners"
With more people staying at home because of COVID, the demand for bright colorful containers to decorate your surroundings is on the rise. As a designer, I have received a record number of requests for container designs this spring and found that there is a shortage of exciting plant sources that I normally would go …
Continue reading "Containers With Pizzazz…. !!"
Lemon Verbena has always been at the top of my list of herbs to grow for its intense lemony fragrance. More pungent that lemon balm or lemon thyme, I ended up with a bumper crop last year and found many uses for it. Be sure to buy a transplant this spring and place it where …
Continue reading "Lemon Verbena – Herb Extraordinaire"
If you have deer visit your garden and want some color in partial shade or sun, consider planting Calycanthus floridus. A wonderful, easy-to-grow shrub, Carolina Sweet Shrub features strongly fragrant dark red flowers in early summer. The show doesn't stop there; the leaves often turn a nice shade of yellow in the fall. Carolina Sweet …
Continue reading "Carolina Sweet Shrub-Another Deer Proof Shrub Addition"
If you are looking for an easy care shrub, with little to no pruning, deer resistant, and fabulous fall color, look no further than the Red-Veined Enkianthus. Award of Garden Merit Plant Enkianthus campanulatus 'Showy Lanterns', the red-veined enkianthus has always captured my interest with its striking hanging bell-like flowers. In the springtime, this shrub …
Continue reading "Enkianthus-Uncommon and Beautiful"
One summer day working at a client’s garden doing routine maintenance, I caught a whiff of wonderful fragrance on the breeze. After searching for the source, I came upon a mid-sized shrub full of narrow, spike-like creamy white flowers with an extremely sweet fragrance. Alive with insects darting in and out, the shrub swayed in …
Continue reading "Clethra: Deer Resistant, Fragrant, and Pollinator Catnip"
