I Love Amalanchier canadensis aka Serviceberry, Shadbush, and Shadblow
Name: Amalanchier canadensis aka Serviceberry, Shadbush, and Shadblow Type of Plant: A large, multi-stemmed shrub or small tree, with an open and delicate crown. This plant is native to our area, attractive to pollinators, and provides berries for birds and other...
I Love Forsythia
Name: Forsythia species, hybrids and varieties Type of Plant: A flowering shrub in the olive family, Oleaceae. One of the first shrubs to bloom in the spring, and one that’s very hardy as well. Why I Love This Plant: I love the fact that this plant produces bright...
Make A Rustic, Spring Log Planter
If you find a hollow log, or half a hollow log, make a seasonal celebration planter. Use small plants you already have in your gardens: moss, self-sown perennials or bulbs, and small stonecrop sedums, for example. I also used a couple of violas from a six-pack of...
I Love Lonicera sempervirens ‘Major Wheeler’ aka Major Wheeler Honeysuckle
Name: Lonicera sempervirens ‘Major Wheeler’ aka Major Wheeler honeysuckle Type of Plant: A variety of our native vine, Lonicera sempervirens, that produces coral-red flowers. This twining vine grows to about 10’ tall and wide. Why I Love This Plant: First of all, I’m...
I Love Heath and Heather
Name: Heath (Erica cinerea) and Heather (Calluna vulgaris) Type of Plant: These two plants are commonly called “heather” but they are two different species. Both are in the family Ericaceae, however and they like similar growing conditions. Why I Love This Plant:...
Gnomeinkulture
Move over hugelkulture and hay bale gardening…there’s a far better, centuries-old way to create productive gardens with the practice of burying of gnomes. Began long ago by monks at Notre Dame De Manie Des Plantes, this means of building up the landscape in order to...
What A Wonderful Weed
I see rosettes of green In lawns and gardens too They are healthy food For me and you And I think to myself What a wonderful weed. Apologies to Louis Armstrong, but the site of Cardamine hirsuta, aka bittercress, in my gardens has me humming happily. This is what...
I Love Mountain Magic Tomatoes
Name: Mountain Magic Hybrid Tomato Type of Plant: This F1 hybrid tomato is larger than a cherry but smaller than the typical sandwich slicer…but it is one of the tomatoes that I would never be without in my garden. Why I Love This Plant: Let’s cut to the chase and...
I Love Viola x wittrockiana aka Spring Pansies
Name: Viola x wittrockiana aka Spring Pansies Type of Plant: The most popular cool-weather annual. Why I Love This Plant: For those in the northern regions, this is the first annual we can plant outside in the spring. In fact, in many areas they can be planted in...