Favorite Salvias of a Garden Designer

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 …

Indian Pink- A Native Hummingbird Delight

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 …

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 …

Hellebores-Deer Resistant, Low Maintenance, Shade Perennial

Gardeners and Hellebores Ok, drumroll here....I think I can say that Hellebores are my favorite perennial plant. A well-kept secret of garden enthusiasts, Hellebores should be more widely known to serious and not so serious gardeners alike; this is a plant that is worth seeking out. What other plant resists deer, neglect, likes shade-even deep shade, is …

Stars of the Fall Garden

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. One of the all time favorites …

Elderflowers: Growing, Picking & Harvesting

What's blooming in my garden? Elderflowers!! 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 …

Callicarpa – Beauty + Fruit Combine for a Great Native Plant

American Beautyberry, Callicarpa americana, is aptly named as the latin name means beauty +  fruit. The purple jewel-like berries are arranged artfully on cascading branches of this wonderful deciduous and deer resistant shrub. Native to the central and southeastern United States, it is found naturally growing in open meadows and woodlands. A nutritional powerhouse, with …

Ultimate Guide to Growing and Using Lavender

Lavender fields - photo by Helen Battersby

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 …

Top Three Native Vines That Attract Butterflies, Bees, and Hummingbirds

The pipevine's flowers are odd looking and interesting

Native vines are a totally underused plant in Mid-Atlantic gardens. Filling gaps, covering walls and fences, and a great vertical element in any garden, vines can be used to attract native butterflies and insects to your garden. Vines are useful if you don't have a ton of room and usually grow quickly and form almost …

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