By Claire Jones
Who says you have to wait and plant your containers in May after a final frost? I have plants in my containers all year long and start my season in early to mid March after pulling out Christmas greens, using a long list of early spring flowers (see below) that can tolerate and flourish in …
Continue reading "Continuous Containers With Cool Season Flowers"
Ok, drumroll here....I think I can say that Hellebores (Helleborus x hybridus) hybrid Lenten Rose, are my favorite perennial plant. A plant that is becoming known by non-gardeners as well as garden enthusiasts, Hellebores or commonly known as Lenten roses, is a plant that is worth seeking out. What other plant resists deer, neglect, likes shade-even …
Continue reading "Hello to Hellebores!"
Sunny yellow blooms fringed with a fringed ruff poking through snow is my first sign that spring has sprung. Eranthis hyamalis, or Winter Aconite, in the buttercup family, is a spring ephemeral, which means that it is a short-lived plant above ground with a burst of blooms, then disappears, remaining under ground until next winter. …
Continue reading "First Bulb of Spring – Winter Aconites"
The Audubon Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) runs from Feb 14-17, 2025, which is an unique opportunity to get the family involved in this popular hobby to record bird sightings. This international annual Bird Count unites the world in connecting to birds and has expanded every year involving more and more people across the globe. …
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Who wouldn't want to grow a flower that smells like chocolate cake? Chocolate Cosmos, Cosmos atrosanguineus, has velvety, burgundy-maroon flowers so named because of their sweet, cocoa-like fragrance. The fragrance is due to vanillin, an organic compound also found in cocoa and is most noticeable on warm and sunny days. The flowers are similar to …
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ReWilding is a big buzz word in the horticultural world right now. But what does it mean for you and your garden? According to the Oxford Dictionary, ReWilding is to restore an area of land to its natural uncultivated state, used especially with reference to the reintroduction of species of wild animal that have been driven …
Continue reading "Top 10 Ways to ReWild Your Garden"
My next tour coming up will be the Netherlands and Belgium, including the garden that is on every gardener's bucket list- Keukenhof. I was there a few years ago and spent an entire day at Keukenhof at peak bloom time and got so many ideas of new tulips and ways to use them. You can …
Continue reading "Tulips, Windmills, and Cheese!"
Fresh off the MANTS (Mid-Atlantic Nursery Trade Show) floor in snow-covered Baltimore, I made lots of fresh contacts and found many exciting plant introductions that I want to use in my future landscaping projects. I am stoked for the 2025 gardening year and the new plants and ideas that are hitting the nursery and garden …
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I had the opportunity to visit the legendary gardens, The Lost Gardens of Heligan, in the Spring of 2023, located near St. Austell, Cornwall. One of Europe's largest garden restoration projects, and on the bucket list for any adventurous gardener, Heligan (means willow tree) is one of the most fascinating estates in England. Also named …
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After the final hard frost of the season, sometime in mid-November here in USDA zone 7 Maryland, I am starved for winter color. Much of my winter interest is present with pealing bark, stem colors, and berries, but I am especially interested in flowers that bloom in the coldest of weather. Flowers in December, January, …
Continue reading "Favorite Top 10 Blooms for the Winter Garden"
Christmas wreaths are one of my favorite decorations because there are endless variations that you can use to make them unique. I have tons of dried flowers that I have harvested from my meadows and like to use them to decorate for Christmas as a reminder of my overflowing flower beds of summer. Bringing them …
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About the only time I have people sit down for a full dinner at a dining table at my house is Christmas and I need a knock-out centerpiece. It must have a low silhouette so people can converse across it and also have a small footprint so it doesn't take up a lot of room. …
Continue reading "Elegant and Easy Christmas Centerpiece Ideas"
