http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/la/hotplants en webmaster@statebystategardening.com Copyright 2012 2012-05-11T13:00:41+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/chardonnay_pearls_deutzia/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/chardonnay_pearls_deutzia/ Living in the heart of Virginia wine country has many benefits. My favorite vineyard is literally just a skip from my office door. While I most often lean towards the reds, a crisp Chardonnay on a hot day is hard to beat. Crisp and refreshing certainly describes the Proven Winners introduction Chardonnay Pearls® deutzia. The white pearl buds appear above the clean, chartreuse foliage like grapes on the vine and are slightly fragrant when fully open ... 2012-05-11T05:01:11+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/chinese_fringe_tree/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/chinese_fringe_tree/ Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus) is a small deciduous tree or large shrub native to China, Korea and Japan. Do not confuse fringe tree with Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense) or our own native fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus) which grows very shrub-like, and is fragrant. 2012-05-04T05:01:12+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/tulip_poplar/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/tulip_poplar/ In Andrea Wulf’s fascinating book Founding Gardeners, we discover that George Washington was not only “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen,” but he was also the new nation’s first serious tree hugger. One of his all-time favorite trees was the majestic tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), a species native to the vast hardwood forests east of the Mississippi. 2012-04-27T13:00:46+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/jack_frost_brunnera/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/jack_frost_brunnera/ Every garden has shady areas, and gardeners are often in doubt about which shade perennial plants to use. Chosen by the Perennial Plant Association, the 2012 Perennial Plant of the Year may provide the answer with ‘Jack Frost’ brunnera (Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’). This introduction was discovered in the well-known perennial nursery of Walters Gardens and was introduced in 2000. These perennials are treasured for their shade tolerance and lovely powder blue clustered flowers ... 2012-04-20T13:00:56+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/sundance/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/sundance/ Most all of us are drawn to golden plants in the garden, and Choisya ‘Sundance’ is one of my favorites. This mounding shrub has soft golden leaves, white flowers in early summer, and (to my complete surprise) has been evergreen in my garden for several years. Don’t let the delicate foliage fool you — it’s a tough plant to kill. Young plants are very attractive and useful in containers and hanging baskets because of their naturally arching and weeping habit ... 2012-04-13T13:00:25+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/redbuds/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/redbuds/ Redbud trees could be considered the poster child trees of the showy April bloomers list. The native Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) and the Chinese redbud (Cercis chinensis) are two of the showiest and most reliable bloomers of spring, flowering faithfully in April each year. The flower colors range from all shades of pink, purple and lavender, to reddish or white, depending on the cultivar ... 2012-04-06T05:01:17+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/royal_fern/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/royal_fern/ The royal fern is a solution plant for gardens with wet soil. Royal ferns are named so because they can grow to be rather large, up to 5 feet tall and 5 feet across. They make quite an impact in the garden. Sterile fronds emerge in spring yellowish green and tinged with terra-cotta. Mature fronds are bright green. Being deciduous, pleasing yellow and brown shades appear in fall. They are quite striking when backlit by the sun ... 2012-03-30T05:01:10+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/brass_buttons/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/brass_buttons/ This great little ground cover is ideal for shady, low-traffic areas where you want something soft underfoot. It’s perfect for woodland pathways, rock gardens and especially as a textural contrast between flagstones or in tiny crevices. The foliage of Leptinella squalida is very delicate and is available in several forms, from a soft green with slight hints of bronze-black to the very dramatic ‘Platt’s Black’ with strong bronze-black tones ... 2012-03-23T13:00:23+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/crinum_sangria/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/crinum_sangria/ Crinum 'Sangria' puts a new spin on a classic Southern plant. Like other crinums, it is tough as nails, surviving on abandoned sites without care for decades. 'Sangria' updates this old staple with spectacular foliage that emerges a deep purple and slowly ages to green. The swordlike foliage eventually flops over, giving the plant a loose, casual feel. Worth growing for its foliage alone, the rose-pink flowers are a pretty bonus. 2012-03-16T13:00:05+00:00 http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/solomons_seal/ http://statebystategardening.com/state.php/ar/hotplants/solomons_seal/ Polygonatum multiflorum has held a rich tradition with European herbalists since medieval times. Primarily used as poultice to reduce excessive bruising, modern science has found Solomon's North American sister P. biflorum to be elementally the same. Botanically, P. biflorum bears two flowers from each leaf axis and P. multiflorum may bear three or more. 2012-03-09T13:00:30+00:00