Here in southwestern Connecticut, the flowering dogwoods are in bloom. Once a familiar sight in our landscapes, Cornus florida, also known as common dogwood, is frequently being passed over by many homeowners looking for a flowering tree for their gardens. Too common? Perhaps. Victim of some bad press? Possibly. Under-appreciated? Definitely. Part of the reason for this trend is the [...]
Archive for the ‘Natives’ Category
In Praise of the Flowering Dogwood
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Habitat Gardening, Natives, tagged Cornus florida, dogwood anthracnose, flowering dogwoods, native tree for Connecticut garden on April 20, 2012 | 4 Comments »
You Can Grow That ~ Connecticut
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Habitat Gardening, Natives, tagged Amelanchier arborea, Amelanchier canadensis, Amelanchier laevis, Connecticut garden, wildlife gardening, You cangrow that on March 4, 2012 | 19 Comments »
Can you smell it? It’s almost spring. Soon our gardens, whether in Connecticut, Colorado or somewhere in between, will be bursting into life. The problem with many gardens I see as a landscape designer is that they are full of spring ‘one-hit wonders’. You know them, they look great for a few days or, if [...]
Tiarella cordifolia – Native Groundcover for Shade
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Natives, tagged foam flower, native groundcover for shade, Plants Noveau, Tiarella cordifolia on February 6, 2012 | 14 Comments »
My new botanical obsession has got to be Tiarella. I’m a little late to the tiarella (a.k.a. foam flower) party, having really just discovered them last year. That’s when, in my search for shade-tolerant ground covers, I planted both T. cordifolia ‘Running Tapestry’ and T. cordifolia ‘Black Snowflake’ in shady spots in my garden. Outta My Way My obsession [...]
Native Plants for Connecticut Gardens
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Natives, tagged gardening in Connecticut, native plants for Connecticut gardens on December 31, 2011 | 15 Comments »
Adding more native plants to your garden, regardless of whether you garden in Connecticut, Florida, Texas, California or somewhere in between, is a great way to make your garden more sustainable, eco-friendly and attractive to local wildlife. At first blush, it can seem overwhelming to choose between all the available native plants. My advice is to focus on adding [...]
Plant This, Not That
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Habitat Gardening, Natives, Zone 6 gardening, tagged butterfly bush, maiden grass, native plant alternatives to hybrid holly, wildlife friendly plants on November 20, 2011 | 9 Comments »
Recently, fellow Native Plants & Wildlife Gardens team member, Genevieve Schmidt, wrote a post about native plant alternatives for several overused plants found in many gardens in California, where Gen lives, gardens and works as a landscaper. As Gen mentions in her post,Plant This, Not That: California Natives Edition, by simply looking beyond the every-house-on-my-street-has-one-of-those plants, and [...]
Fall Foliage Star: Oakleaf Hydrangea
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Natives, tagged hydrangea quercifolia cultivars, Oakleaf hydrangea foliage, shrub for Connecticut gardens, shrub for fall color on November 11, 2011 | 8 Comments »
Here in southwestern Connecticut, the foliage is finally starting to turn blazing colors of red, yellow and orange. The reds really seem to be coming into their own right now. The display is late this year, most likely due to effects of the summer drought and TI Irene, and overall the colors are a bit [...]
Coneflowers and Winter Hardiness
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Natives, Plant Possibilities, tagged best Echinacea cultivars for gardens, coneflowers and winter hardiness, Mt. CubaCenter, Plants Nouveau, tips for planting Echinacea on October 17, 2011 | 10 Comments »
Are you one of the many gardeners who is enamored with the wide array of new coneflower (Echinacea) cultivars on the market? It seems like plant breeders are spitting out coneflower cultivars at an escalating rate…you can find flowers in shades of pink, yellow, orange, red and purple. Singles, doubles and even double-deckers. Small cones, [...]
Plant Possibilities: Aruncus dioicus
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Habitat Gardening, Natives, Plant Possibilities, tagged Aruncus dioicus, bride's feather, goatsbeard, habitat garden, native plant for groundcover, plants for dry shade on July 25, 2011 | 13 Comments »
In my continuing search for more native plants to add to my garden, specifically perennials to use as groundcover in shady spots, I decided to plant some goatsbeard (Aruncus dioicus) this year to see how it performs. While it’s only been a few months, so far I’m quite pleased with the results. I hesitated adding goatsbeard, [...]
Small Trees for Connecticut Gardens
Posted in Gardening in Connecticut, Natives, Plant Possibilities, tagged Acer griseum, Chionanthus virginicus, Ilex opaca, small trees for Connecticut Gardens on July 18, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Choosing ornamental trees for your garden can be an overwhelming decision. Since most homeowners have room for only one or two small trees, choosing trees is something most of us don’t do very often. Even small trees can set the tone for your garden and should be viewed as permanent fixtures that add year round [...]
Book Preview and a Free Giveaway
Posted in Book Previews, Edibles, Gardening in Connecticut, Natives, tagged A Gardener's Guide to Blueberries, blueberry shrubs, Fall Creek Farm and Nursery, free giveaway, how to grow blueberries, vaccinium corymbosum on July 15, 2011 | 19 Comments »
*** Win a free copy of A Gardener’s Guide to Blueberries by leaving a comment below*** Frequent readers of this blog already know I think highbush blueberry shrubs (Vaccinium corymbosum) should be grown in every garden. OK, every garden in zones 3 – 10, where they are hardy. The reason is simple, they offer [...]
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