New Plants and Garden Trends at Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show

Fresh off the MANTS (Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show) floor in Baltimore, I made lots of fresh contacts and found many exciting plant introductions that I want to use in my future landscaping projects. I am stoked for the 2023 gardening year and the new plants and ideas that are hitting the nursery and garden center …

Nepeta: The Perfectly Behaved Perennial

Cascading over a pathway, Catmint works as a great edger

I have a long lasting love affair with perennial Nepeta or Catmint. I have used this under-the-radar perennial for years as a deer resistant plant that gives a long season of color for the entire season. My garden design career of over 25 years means the selections have only gotten better. 'Walkers Low' and 'Six …

Late Winter Blooms and Fragrance

Late winter is always a tough period for me. Patrolling my property on warm sunny days in late winter, I am ready to see something blooming and if at all possible - fragrant. This seems a difficult task in late February and early March, but there are three candidates that came through with flying colors. …

A Garden For Cutting & Arranging

Formal arrangement

A cutting garden - a piece of earth used primarily for cutting flowers and bringing into the house for arranging in vases - sounds kind of elitist. Like a prim and proper English lady who has a team of gardeners, and ventures out to the garden with a floppy straw hat with her "secateurs" to …

Hairy Toad Lily – Gem of the Garden

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 …

Clethra: Deer Resistant, Fragrant, and Pollinator Catnip

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 …

Plant Dahlias Now for Late Summer Color

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 …

Fringetree – Native Tree That Nobody Grows

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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