The Holiday Bookshelf 2020 Edition, Part 1
Holidays are usually a joyful time but this year, our holidays are fraught with indecision, fear, and sadness: Indecision and fear – is it safe to gather? Sadness for those who have died and won’t be with us. As we…
Spring Bulbs – What the Deer Won’t Eat
[caption id="attachment_7318" align="aligncenter" width="461"] Anemone blanda 'White Splendour', Tulipa 'Heart's Delight'[/caption] Why am I writing now about bulbs that bloom in the Spring? Because it’s not too late to plant. In fact, now is the ideal time for bulbs to root.…
Helenium (Sneezeweed)
[caption id="attachment_7304" align="aligncenter" width="461"] Monarchs on Buddleia 'African Queen'[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7305" align="aligncenter" width="460"] Monarchs on Liatris ligulistylis-hanshansen[/caption] Before I start telling you about Helenium, I have to share with you what a delight the past few days have been. A…
Eryngium – Sea Holly
[caption id="attachment_7287" align="aligncenter" width="460"] A xeric garden at the Lurie Gardens in Chicago's Millenium Park includes Echinacea purpurea, Calamintha nepeta subsp. nepeta, and Eryngium yuccifolium.[/caption] When searching for a perennial that will survive in a hot, dry, sunny site,…
Making Adjustments
[caption id="attachment_7268" align="aligncenter" width="460"] "The Iris Garden at Giverny" by Monet is Monet’s encapsulation of the garden at the moment when he painted it.-wikiart[/caption] Gardens are living art. Unlike many of our clients, those of us who garden know that…
Calamagrostis arundinacea ‘Brachytricha’ – Korean Feather Reed Grass
[caption id="attachment_7250" align="aligncenter" width="461"] Calamagrostis acutiflora 'Karl Foerster', Sedum 'Autumn Joy', Berberis 'Rose Glow'[/caption] Start talking about ornamental grasses. As soon as the genus Calamagrostis is mentioned, what everyone immediately sees in their mind’s eye, is the cultivar ‘Karl Foerster’…
Monarda (Beebalm)
[caption id="attachment_7236" align="aligncenter" width="463"] Monarda in part shade garden with Persicaria amplexicalulis.[/caption] Monarda, a North American native, is one of the workhorses of the perennial garden as well as the herb garden. Its leaves are aromatic and somewhat citrusy and…