I know you're wondering, so let's get this out of the way: it's loo-kow-thow-ee. You only have to say the name once though, when you're looking for it at the nursery, and then you can call it anything you like. "That gorgeous variegated thing" is … [Continue reading]
Book Review of Japanese Maples: The Complete Guide to Selection and Cultivation, by J.D. Vertrees and Peter Gregory, Fourth Edition, Timber Press As a landscape designer, a critical part of my work is in recognizing the subtle differences between … [Continue reading]
Yeah, so I'm a day late to hit Monday Miscellany on an actual Monday. But you wouldn't have had me miss out on the Labor Day sunshine, would you? Anyway, let's jump right in to some of the cool stuff happening around the web in the last week. The … [Continue reading]
On the heels of our recent Garden Designers Roundtable on Inviting Nature Into the Garden, I wanted to share a resource that I've been finding incredibly helpful in recent months. While we all know that planting natives is a good way to attract more … [Continue reading]
This low-maintenance perennial forms a slowly spreading mat of thick green foliage, and at the end of summer bursts into bloom with a multi-colored show. The buds start out pale pink and fade to deep rose, eventually turning a rich rusty brown for … [Continue reading]
Was reading a post over at The Blogging Nurseryman where Trey discusses what gardeners really want to see in independent garden centers. (Go read it, I'll wait. You don't want to miss Amy Stewart's rant on the topic.) She brought up that Garden … [Continue reading]
Lavender: The Grower's Guide is a thorough and easy-to-use encyclopedia of the lavender varieties most common in production today. Virginia McNaughton begins the book strongly by discussing how to grow lavender, how to prune it, the special … [Continue reading]
‘Snowmound’ Spirea (USDA Zones 4-9) is a lovely thing, with deep green leaves, reddish stems, a graceful arching habit and rounded form. It loses its leaves, but doesn’t make a mess about it, and the white flowers in spring make you forget that you … [Continue reading]
Recently I was talking with a native plant aficionado, and she was telling me that the turning point for her in going native was when she looked around her gorgeous landscape, and realized it was barren of animal life. She had a garden simply … [Continue reading]
New Zealand Wind Grass is a stunning low-maintenance grass that keeps its glowing orange foliage all winter long. I occasionally have to prune out some dead bits here or there, which I do by grasping a small clump of dead foliage and cutting it out … [Continue reading]
I often see statues of Buddha in people’s gardens, and every time I do, I have a small secret smile, because I know an old story about the Buddha that most people haven’t yet heard. It involves one of our most-hated garden pests and the sacrifice … [Continue reading]