Shrubs Beside Water (or in Wet Soil)
One of the most common instructions we find ourselves giving is to grow a certain plant in ‘well-drained soil’. That is fine, but what if you don’t have soil like that, perhaps because…
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Beyond the Mop-Head Hydrangea – Other Types and Species of Hydrangea Plants
Say “Hydrangea”, and most people think of those big, floppy heads of flowers in summer, in pink, white, or blue. That is the big-leaf hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla, that came to us from Japan….
Lavandin or Lavender – What’s the Difference?
So you want to grow some lavender, but when you Google for some more information you start seeing this word ‘Lavandin’. Ah, you think, maybe it’s the French name for it? Hm, nice…
The special Story of a Special Plant, the Pillar Hibiscus
The Hardy Hibiscus, or Rose of Sharon, is a shrub that’s familiar to many gardeners. It was once wildly popular but then fell from favor, returning recently with many new varieties. For long-blooming…
How to Succeed with Winterberry Bushes
‘Winter’ and ‘Berries’ definitely go together. The traditional Christmas holly may dominate the Christmas card market, but as many gardeners soon discover, if you live in areas that are too cold or too…
Let’s Sort Out Jasmines and their Friends
There is nothing new or unique about botanists and ordinary folk having different names for plants. If you look at the plants gardeners call ‘cypress’ you find a whole host of very different…
Meet the Viburnums – Some Of Our Best Flowering Shrubs
If you want to know the secret to creating an attractive garden, there is a one-word answer – ‘structure’. I don’t mean pergolas and gazebos, but structure from shrubs and small tree. A…
Shrubs for Exciting Ground Cover
Every garden has spaces beneath the plants where the earth can be seen. These areas attract weeds, and they lose water to the air, drying out your plants faster. They also look boring,…
Kathleen Meserve – the Holly Lady
Plant breeding is one of the few areas where amateur, hobby gardeners have made at least as much of a contribution to the plants we grow as professionals – and sometimes even more….
Victor Lemoine – the Lilac Man
Especially for gardeners in colder zones, lilacs are classic flowering shrubs no-one would want to be without. Their large heads of fragrant flowers are a delight, and available in a wide range of…
Trees and Shrubs for Alkaline Soils – Part 2
A couple of weeks back we started this two-parter on choosing plants that will grow well for you if you have alkaline soil. If you are looking for some suitable trees, or are…
5 Ways to Make a Beautiful Garden with White-flowering Shrubs
It doesn’t take long, once you start gardening, to start thinking about color. Yes, it is very important to arrange your beds using interesting shapes – a blend of vertical, rounded and horizontal…
Trees and Shrubs for Alkaline Soils – Part 1
The Right Plant in the Right Place is a slogan that you will often hear from professional landscape designers and horticulturists. It’s a simple principle, but one often ignored in the rush to…
Get to Know the Quince
If you haven’t smelled the fruit of the quince, you have missed out on something beautiful. These strange hard fruits are renowned for their perfume, and were first used in the Middle East…
Ping Lim – a Rose Breeder for Today
Older generations of gardeners who love roses might know the name Sam McGredy. One of the most famous rose breeders of the last century, Irish-born Sam, who was the fourth breeder in his…
Winter Protection for Roses, Hydrangeas and Other Shrubs
With winter settling in around us we are turning up the heat and bringing out the duvets. Gardeners are casting an anxious eye on those border-line shrubs they planted in the now-distant spring…
The Perfect Substitute for Boxwood – New Hollies
Boxwood is definitely one of the most iconic garden plants there is. Most people recognize it straight away, and those clipped hedges are a symbol of the organize, formal look for gardens. Start…
Spacing Hedges – Let’s Get it Right
Hedges are important components in just about every garden. In cities and suburbs they give privacy and a calm background to your garden, screening out neighbors, traffic noise, and unsightly views. In rural…
Bushel & Berry® – a Fantastic New Way for Everyone to Grow Berries
Nothing beats a bowl of berries – fresh, juicy, tangy and sweet – delicious! If you are a berry lover, nothing truly beats the taste of berries fresh from the bush, perhaps still…
Aronia – Meet a New Healthy Berry That’s Easy to Grow at Home
If you are out front of the latest health trends you may have heard already about the Aronia, or Chokeberry. These small black berries are being widely promoted for their powerful antioxidant content,…
William Penn Barberry – A Beautiful Little-known Shrub
Sometimes the stories of our garden plants are as interesting as the plants themselves and knowing them adds to the pleasure of growing them. Just like getting to know your neighbors enriches your…
How to Grow Perfect Rhododendrons and Azaleas
Almostall gardeners agree that there is nothing so beautiful as a garden with rhododendrons and azaleas growing in it. But often the first attempts are disappointing, and these plants are often relegated to…
Miniature Roses Come to Town
Most gardeners have some idea of the main groups of rose – hybrid teas, floribunda, climbing roses, and so on – even if with new varieties those old borders have become a little…
Smoke Trees for Smaller Gardens
Tough, vigorous and beautiful, the Smoke Tree – Cotinus coggygria – has been a reliable garden shrub for a very long time. Whether you go for the original green-leaf version, or the very…