I Love Smokebush, Cotinus x ‘Grace’
Name: Cotinus x ‘Grace’ aka Grace smoke bush Type of Plant: A large shrub that has colorful foliage and delicate “smoke-like” flowers. Why I Love/Hate this plant: I love this smoke bush because the leaves are colorful all season, and when it’s in flower it’s even...
I Love King Richard Leeks
Name: King Richard Leeks aka Allium porrum ‘King Richard’ Type of Plant: Leeks are a hardy biennial that we grow as an annual vegetable in the northeast. It’s in the genus Allium, so you know it’s related to other onions. Why I Love/Hate this plant: I love leeks...
I Love Callicarpa Purple Pearls
Name: Callicarpa Purple Pearls® aka Callicarpa x ‘NCCX1’ USPP 26,000 aka purple pearls beautyberry. Type of Plant: This is a beautyberry that is a deciduous shrub. It grows four to five feet tall and wide, and does the best in full sun. Hardy in zones 5-8....
I Love Variegated Boxwood
Name: Buxus sempervirens ‘Variegata’ aka variegated boxwood. Type of Plant: A slow growing evergreen shrub that does well in full sun to part shade. Hardy in Zones 5 to 9. Why I Love/Hate this plant: Any plant that has variegated foliage adds excitement...
Harvesting and Preserving Garden Leeks
That row of leeks we planted in June is now chock full of large plants that are ready to harvest. And I’m happy to cut many of them in mid-October, while leaving some to pick on a day-by-day basis for cooking dinner. Here is what I do with leeks in October. My...
I Love Salvia Elegans ‘Golden Delicious’
Name: Salvia elegans ‘Golden Delicious’ Type of Plant: This is an annual herb in my area, but a perennial in zones 8-11. Grow this plant in full sun, and enjoy the fruity fragrance of the foliage. Why I Love/Hate this plant: You say you want color in your yard and...
I Love Verbena Bonariensis
Name: Verbena bonariensis aka tall verbena. Type of Plant: On the Cape and Islands this is a self-seeding tender perennial. In slightly colder places it’s a self-seeding annual, and in warmer climates a true perennial. Why I Love/Hate this plant: There’s so much to...
Mountain Magic Tomatoes…Great For Gardens and Pizza
I’ve long loved the Mountain Magic variety of tomato because it’s the most early blight resistant tomato that I’ve grown, and believe me, I’ve tried them all. In early October we are still picking many of these every day, although all the other...
I Love Cucamelons…Melothria scabra
Name: Melothria scabra aka Mexican sour gherkins, miniature watermelons, or cucamelons. Type of Plant: A delicate vine that’s grown for the tiny, cucumber-like fruits that resemble miniature watermelons. Why I Love/Hate this plant First of all, let me make this...