By Claire Jones
In my garden travels around the world, I am always looking for new and different plants. After a recent visit to Sissinghurst, I observed a plant that I really wanted to try at home, having never seen it before. Beautiful in flower, the foliage is quite attractive too. Cerinthe major atropurpurea , featured at …
Continue reading "How to Plant and Grow Honeywort, a Pollinator Favorite"
Native vines are a totally underused plant in Mid-Atlantic gardens. Filling gaps, covering walls and fences, and a great vertical element in any garden, vines can be used to attract native butterflies and insects to your garden. Vines are useful if you don't have a ton of vertical room and usually grow quickly and form …
Continue reading "Growing Vertical with the Top Five Native Vines for Pollinators"
As earth stewards of our amazing planet, we can appreciate the potential importance of all species to the continued existence of a complex ecosystem. But there are some that stand out and do the heavy lifting. Specific integral species are more important than others to the sustainability of an ecosystem and are called ‘Keystone Species’ …
Continue reading "The Benefits of Planting Native Keystone Plants"
As a landscape designer, an increasingly frequent request from clients is getting rid of their lawn and replacing with more natural alternatives, like a pollinator friendly meadow. Water hogging and pesticide laden lawns are being replaced nowadays with different varieties of grasses, flowering plants (weeds!), and other perennials. Rewilding is a term that is being …
Continue reading "Meadow 101 – How to Install and Maintain a Beautiful Meadow"
Have you seen a little yellow flower that you think is very cute blooming on your property??? It forms a ground covering mat of glossy green heart shaped leaves punctuated by buttercup like flowers. You might have looked at it and thought it was the first sign of spring! If your answer is yes, get …
Continue reading "Lesser Celandine is Taking Over the World"
Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) is an early blooming, perennial bulb in the Lily Family (Liliaceae) native to southeastern Europe. Not a true Hyacinth, the common name comes from the resemblance of the clusters of the small, bell-shaped, cobalt-blue flowers to upside-down clusters of grapes. Grape hyacinth is hardy in zones 3-9. Many people dismiss these common …
Continue reading "Grape Hyacinth – Animal Resistant, Long Lasting, and Beautiful"
Top 10 Deer Strategies Having observed so many people get frustrated and ready to throw in the towel because of deer and rabbits, gave me the impetus to write this article. Taking all the pleasure out of gardening, animals can be a ongoing annoying and expensive problem, but that doesn't mean it is insurmountable. There …
Continue reading "I Give Up…. Deer Are Eating Everything!"
Ok, drumroll here....I think I can say that Hellebores (Helleborus x hybridus) hybrid Lenten Rose, are my favorite perennial plant. A well-kept secret of garden enthusiasts, Hellebores or commonly known as Lenten roses should be more widely known to serious and not so serious gardeners alike; this is a plant that is worth seeking out. …
Continue reading "A Passion for Hellebores"
There are so many flowers that you can use before cold temps subside in the spring (below 35 degrees Fahrenheit at night), that I make up at least a half dozen containers to cheer me up after a long cold winter, here in the mid-Atlantic region. Having hung up my winter coat and wearing a …
Continue reading "Annuals That Can Take the Cold"
Native plants are so important to all our pollinators, but the most important are the early spring ones-plants that flower in late winter into spring- that will keep the pollinators fed when there is a dearth of nectar. I keep honeybees and observe that when I have a warm sunny day over 45 degrees Fahrenheit, …
Continue reading "Top 10 Early Spring Native Plant Choices"
The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) runs from Feb 16-19, 2024, which is an unique opportunity to get the family involved in this popular hobby to record bird sightings. This annual Bird Count unites the world in this one endeavor. An event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a …
Continue reading "Backyard Bird Count 2024"
An heirloom cutting garden - a patch of garden used primarily for cutting old fashioned flowers and arranging in vases - sounds kind of elitist. Like a prim and proper English lady who has a team of gardeners, and ventures out to the garden with a floppy straw hat with her 'secateurs' to cut flowers …
Continue reading "Grow Your Own Bouquet With Heirloom Annuals"
