A Thornless Blackberry For Trellises, Arbors and Buildings
Imagine: A trellis or arbor filled with long canes filled with small, pinkish white flowers in June…but the fun doesn’t stop with the flowers – in August that same structure is dripping with blackberries…and not a thorn to be seen. Name: Rubus Doyles Thornless...
A Fantastic Angelonia For Gardens And Containers
Imagine: Call me picky, but when I plant an annual in late May I want it to still be looking good in September…maybe even into October. I’m willing to give it continual fertilization. I’m willing to deadhead it once. (Maybe more often if I’m feeling attentive, but I’d...
Shoot For The Moon by Growing Moonflowers
Name: Ipomoea alba, aka moonflower Type of Plant: A fast growing annual vine for sun and part-sun. Why I Love/Hate this plant: If you want an annual vine that will quickly create a privacy screen for the summer, this plant is for you. If you wish for a plant that will...
A Splendid September Self-Seeder
As I walked through the gardens with my coffee this morning, what caught my eye were tall Gomphocarpus physocarpus plants in the cutting garden. These are some of my regular “party crashers,” self-seeding in the same area every year, and delighting me with...
Plants and Morning Coffee: Variegated Sea Hibiscus
It is often my habit to take my morning coffee outside in the morning and see what catches my eye. Today, it was Hibiscus tiliaceus variegata, aka Mahoe or variegated sea hibiscus, or seaside Mahoe. This plant is worth growing as a container plant, bringing it inside...
Is A Beautiful Garden Only For the Wealthy?
This question was recently posted on the Cape Cod Gardening Group page, and I thought it was a great query. “Curious: have seen many beautiful properties in this group and am wondering: do most of the people who post here have 1+ acre lots and a fair amount of...
I Love Euphorbia Diamond Mountain
Imagine: She wondered why all the plants in the garden center seemed to be getting shorter every year. Annuals that used to grow three or four feet tall were now only available in varieties that were under one foot. Dwarfs. Everywhere. Even Diamond Frost was shrunk...
Basil Dying? Downy Mildew? You Need Amazel
Imagine: “The basil has turned yellow again,” he said. “I know,” she answered, “I asked about it at the garden center and they told me it’s a disease called Basil Downy Mildew.” “Bummer,” he said. “What can we do?” “This year, nothing…except make what’s still good...
I Love Phlox ‘Jeana’
Name: Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’ aka phlox Jeana Type of Plant: A perennial that grows about four feet tall and has pink flowers from mid-August into September. Why I Love/Hate this plant: This phlox has several aspects to love…first of all, it flowers later in the...