Camellias are one of the old standards of the gardening world. They have a year round quality lending them to be used in accent and entry garden plantings. The early C. sasanqua has been in bloom for some time and many cvs. have finished blooming for this year. However, there are many more to come. Several new species and hybrids are now available, and there are … Read More »

Additional winter flowering plants are the large manzanita group(arctostaphylos spp.), flowering currants(Ribes spp.), Prunus mume, winter daphne(Daphne ordora and cvs.) among others. There are also many plants with attractive colorful and showy bark characters. Shrub dogwoods(Cornus spp.), paperbark and stripe/snakebark maples, shrub willows(Salix spp.) Manzanitas are a large group of native plants which fill many garden planting needs. There are carpeting ground covers, higher ground covers, low spreading shrub forms … Read More »

Lobellia laxiflora is a star among any landscape situations, but you almost never see it. What a shame it is not in everybody’s garden, and even used in parks, plazas, etc. Drought tolerance is quite a bonus with this plant as it comes from the southwest, not like so many of the bog area water thirsy other species of lobellia. This is a long lived perennial and … Read More »

Salvias are a large group. They can be ground hugging mats to towering shrubs. Many have showy flowers, most are deer resistant, and many also have fragrant/pungent leaves, stems, flowers. They grow in sun to partial shade. Some like water, others are extremely drought resistant. Here are two favorites this time. Salvia sonomensis and S. ‘Hot Lips’. These are for a sunnier position, but will … Read More »

Some great plants to try in your garden for fall color are the fall blooming anemones (Anemone hybrida), Rabdosia longituba, flowering gingers, abutilons, chrysanthemums, camellias. Don’t forget foliage colors as well since they remain colorful for the full growing season! There are also fruits/berries with color for the garden in reds, yellows, oranges, whites, pinks, purple-black, and even blue depending on the species you select. The fall blooming anemones are easy … Read More »

in the series of questions, a lot of discussion is mentioned about drainage. Here is a simple way to find out how to see what kind of drainage you have. *Drainage is important to plant growth and success in the garden. First dig a hole perhaps a foot deep and wide. Then fill it with water and see how long it takes to drain. If it disappears in a … Read More »

As summer progresses, the rich array of fruit tree varieties presents the orchardist with the delectable bounty of Nature in the form of rich ripeness of many kinds of fruits. Apricots, apriums, plums, nectarines, peaches, pluots, plumcots, apples are all available in early – midseason varieites and taste so much better when you pick a tree ripened fruit rather than a store bought unripe one. In the home orchard, it … Read More »

One of the finest ornamentals for the garden/landscape are the various forms of Viburnum plicatum tomentosum, and V. p. plicatum (the snowball forms). These shrubs of amazing beauty grace some of the finest landscapes, yet the average home owner, gardening enthusiast, can enjoy them as well. These shrubs are four season performers. Spring is flowers in either lacecap or snowball clusters of whites and pinks, summer … Read More »

Lilacs are old fashioned favorites, tested by time and warmly remembered for their legendary fragrance. The most common type is Syringa vulgaris and its’ varieties number in the hundreds. Color range is broad, from white to pinks, to reddish purples, blues to lavender and purples. All the above in light and darker tones. The individual flowers can be single or double. … Read More »

The spring seasson has brought us many wonderful blooms, yet we are now graced with some of the most spectacular plants for the landscape. Flwoering cherries have been blooming for some time now. At this time we have the midseason varieties such as the very double deep pink ‘Kanzan’ cherry blossom (Prunus serrulata ‘Kanzan’), Shogetsu (Prunus serrulata ‘Shogetsu’) is another just appearing now … Read More »