An under-used and under-appreciated perennial in the U.S, Tricyrtus or Toad Lily, is gaining in popularity. Uncommon beauty, late-season blooms and wonderful adaptability to shade, give the toad lilies a place in just about any garden. Called toad lilies because of the spotting like a toad, these beautiful flowers thrive in moist deep shade to …
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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"
Still chilly outside and you are starved for color? Plant dahlias for late season color. It is like money in the bank. You are glad you did it early on as you know good things will happen later. Gardening in all about anticipation! Ordering Dahlia tubersOrder your dahlias now. I recommend Longfield Gardens for all …
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Are you looking for a small beautiful spring flowering tree to plant this spring with great fall color and beautiful blue black fruit? Look no further than the native Fringetree. Fringetree, Chionanthus virginicus, is rarely planted in a home landscape. Seen mostly at arboretums and botanical gardens, their staff know a good thing when they …
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Plant portraits of two under-used and under-appreciated perennials- Culver's Root and Bear's Breeches
Halloween is around the corner and people are starting to decorate with the many types of pumpkins available at the farmer's market. The past 10 years have seen an explosion of all kinds of colors, sizes, and shapes of pumpkins, but I am in love with a diminutive one, which actually isn't a real pumpkin, …
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A bulb that blooms in the fall? I get a lot of puzzled looks when I try to explain Autumn Crocus or Meadow saffron. Not really a crocus, but actually in the lily family, it resembles the spring flowering crocus but the flowers are larger and chalice-shaped instead of stiffly upright. The similarity to a …
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Flying under the radar for many people, Indian Pink, or Spigelia marilandica is coming into its own. A long-lived perennial that brings stunning colors to the summer garden, hummingbirds flock to these red and yellow tubular flowers arranged in clusters. Similar to firecrackers exploding in the garden, this unique native plant stops people in their …
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Twelve years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week”, marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. Pollinator Week has now grown into an international celebration of the valuable ecosystem services provided by bees, birds, butterflies, bats and beetles. The …
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If anyone ever asks me what flower draws the most butterflies to my garden, I don't hesitate to say- Mexican Sunflower. Tithonia rotundifolia 'Torch', attracts beneficial insects such as hover flies and minute pirate bugs, and of course- butterflies. This coarse textured plant grows up to seven feet high in my veggie garden and meadow …
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