Plants can show us how to have resolve in the face of challenges. Whether it was our record May rain falls or the Summer long drought we experienced after it, my garden is still alive. … [Read more...]
Covering Ground – Preventing Weeds with Living Mulch
Today's post is a Guest Post from Ken Williams and covers an important topic for all gardeners looking to create ecological gardens as well as those just feed up with buying mulch!. Enjoy- Jim As people embrace complex perennial gardens, gardens designed to provide more and better ecosystem services, maintenance becomes an issue. We need to enjoy these gardens, not be slaves to them. … [Read more...]
3 Native Perennials for Fall Interest You Might Not Know
When we think about fall color, we usually think first of trees or shrubs that have foliage that change colors, like red maples or burning bush. Perhaps flowering perennials like Goldenrod or Asters come to mind. They should as they are among the best for late season interest (and pollinator benefit). Here are 3 native perennials for fall interest you may not be aware of and yes I am including a Goldenrod and Aster, but lets start with one that's not. … [Read more...]
A (mostly) Native Perennial Plug Planting Twelve Months Later
Last year, I posted about a new perennial plug planting I did in June of 2016. In that post, Planting Plugs is a Cheap and Easy Way to Plant a Landscape, I showed how a 300 sq ft perennial bed could be prepared and planted using less work and money. … [Read more...]
12 easy care perennials, landscapers favorites part 2
Lets take a look at some of the favorite perennials of landscapers that are not quite as well known as the ones from Part One. Since, I have not grown most of these myself, I can't really go into too many details about their care. Most of them are not natives but several do still provide some wildlife benefits such as pollen for bees and butterflies. One thing I can say is that they are used a lot in the designs I see. Therefore you can be confident they are low care plants that don't need … [Read more...]
Landscapers favorite perennials, Part One, one’s you might know
Yeah, I am actually getting around to talking about landscapers favorite perennials. I mean it was after all only May when I started talking about landscapers favorite trees and it's only now what? August? … [Read more...]
Virginia Bluebells signal Spring
Gardeners are always looking for flowers in Spring after a long winter. The earliest are often bulbs such as snowdrops, glory of snow, or crocus. Perhaps it could be a shrub or tree with early flowers such as a magnolia. … [Read more...]
Switchgrass, a great native ornamental grass
Ornamental grasses have gone from making me roll my eyes during a dinner conversation (see my About page) to a perennial I am looking for a spot in my yard to plant more. The particular grass, I am writing about is commonly called Switch grass (Panicum virgatum). … [Read more...]
Canadian ginger, a native made for the shade
It’s been quite a while since I wrote about a perennial. It’s about time to cover another. Last time it was the blue false indigo. This time we are going to go over a foliage plant, the Canadian ginger. … [Read more...]
Local Inspiration for your Nature Inspired Garden Part 1
In a previous post, I wrote about using a natural area as the inspiration for your garden. In it, I wrote about using plants and materials that are native to your area. Doing this helps to bring about the feeling that your garden is actually related to the surrounding landscape. To use native plants in your garden to invoke a natural place, we need to know what plants to use as well as how they are arranged in natural areas. To do this it can help to classify the natural area we are trying to … [Read more...]