A profile of Consolida regalis Story by Denise Pugh As a young gardener with a blank slate for a garden, I was introduced to larkspur (Consolida regalis). My neighbor was a seasoned gardener and grew these lovely plants. She allowed me to gather a bouquet, and my only disappointment was learning that the seeds had been …
Story by Denise Pugh Nothing says springtime quite like a dogwood tree in full bloom. Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is native to the eastern United States. Virginia and North Carolina claim its bloom as their states’ flower, and Missouri claims the dogwood as its state tree. This tree is often associated with Easter according to …
Story by Denise Pugh February is the month of valentines and hearts, and a great month to add the native shrub hearts-a-bustin’ to your landscape. Hearts-a-bustin’ (Euonymus americanus) is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub native to the Southeast. This shrub is found growing naturally in light shade as a woodland understory plant. However, I have found …
Story by David Longron Most bulbs send up shoots of green leaves in the spring, followed shortly by a flower or flower spikes. Apparently, resurrection lily didn’t get that memo. They do send up a cluster of leaves in the spring that die off in early summer like most others, but the flower spikes do …
Story and Photos by David Longron Perhaps nothing frames a home quite as well as pyramidal evergreen hollies gracing the corners or entranceway. The problem is that many popular varieties will eat the entire house if not pruned often and severely. Oakland holly, with its compact and naturally pyramidal growth habit, reduces pruning to a …
Story by David Longron Angelonia is sometimes called summer snapdragon for its resemblance to snapdragons, as well as for its tolerance of Southern heat. It is a tender perennial, but used as an annual in temperate climates. A prolific bloomer, with proper care angelonia will bloom from May until first frost. The Serena series is …
Story and Photos by David Longron Does a plant that needs very little care, is rarely is bothered by insects or diseases, and blooms profusely in spring sound good to you? If so, you might want to consider Weigela. Several varieties are available with colors ranging from white to deep red to tricolor. There are …
Story by David Longron A long-time favorite, clematis (usually pronounced kle-MATIS in the South, but actually, proper pronunciation is KLEM-atis) is a flowering vine that is sometime disparaged as “overused.” The reason that it is used so frequently is because few others can match its showy, sometimes up to 6 inches across, flowers that bloom …
Story by David Longron The coral bark Japanese maple is often overlooked in favor of its many crimson-leafed cousins. Fall colors range from golden yellow to a bright orange, and the leaves tend to persist on the branches for some time. In winter this little tree really begins to steal the show in the garden. …
Story and Photos by Yvonne Lelong Bordelon The sight of the masses of hot pink flowers that cover the bare branches of Taiwan cherry trees in late winter definitely chases the blues away. Hummingbirds, honeybees, and butterflies hurry to sip the nectar. Small cherries soon follow and before they fully ripen, songbirds gobble them up. …
