Damn good plants - Passiflora caerulea
If mother nature is the architect of the natural world, then she out did herself when she created Passion Flowers. There maybe no other flower that comes close to the complexity of the passion flower,...
View ArticleRetail Therapy
This past August was a 'Blue Moon' month when two full moons occur in the same month, for which, a lot of weirder than normal, going on's around the garden center. It could also be the fact that our...
View ArticleGreen fingers, Sticky fingers
Nothing is safe anymore and this has become evident in our own gardens. A troubling trend is beginning to grow on our shores, one that is all too familiar for me from my homelands. Plant theft is very...
View ArticleThe hunt for the Holy grail of Trees - Davidia involucrata
Warning! I'm afraid this is a long one, but I promise if you stick with it, you'll enjoy this as much I did writing it. 'How many garden lovers ever pause to think of the means whereby their gardens...
View ArticleGrowing blunders
Accidents happen, that's why its called an accident. However, every now and then you hear stories of accidents that occur in the garden that leave you dumbfounded. A simple mistake maybe, that leads...
View ArticleDamn good plants - Abelia chinensis
I cannot deny that I have a fondness for Abelia's. You might of noticed it with one of my first post about Abelia 'Kaleidoscope', its a shrub that once it starts, it just keeps on giving. There are...
View ArticleQuiet on the set.....and action!
I'm not one to blow my own horn but, toot toot! My 15 minutes of fame has gone on a little longer than predicted, with now the release of my 'keepers' television commercial. This is the rough...
View ArticleGardening therapy
Design school can only teach you so much, concept and form, elements of design, construction, you name it, they'll cover it. However, real world experience is where formal education can come up short....
View ArticleOld faithful plants - Elaeagnus pungens
So what does a Russian garden magazine, the Augusta National Golf club, and a golden Arborvitae have in common? Well keep reading and I'll show you. For this old faithful post, I've chosen one of my...
View ArticleNew disease alert for Gardeners
Garden advisory - Important Official Warning! The Department of Gardening Affairs has issued a new warning for gardeners to be on the look-out for; strange Gnome behavior. Reports have surfaced that...
View ArticleI guess we're fudged!
Gardeners are keen weather followers. We have to be! In spring we're watching for late frosts that could do damage to our tender plants, which admittedly we put out way too early. Then in fall,...
View ArticleGiving thanks
A few posts back I touched on the subject of exploring the world for plants through the adventures of Ernest Wilson and his hunt for the Dove tree. The concept of roaming the world for new botanical...
View ArticleDamn Good plants, Berrying Viburnums - Part 1
Part One - Going Native The fall's crowning event is undoubtedly the turning of foliage. Rich golds, warming oranges and brilliant reds light up our landscape like a roaring fire. However, once the...
View ArticleDamn Good plants, Berrying Viburnums - Part 2
Part 2 - Exotic Treasures In Part 1, we took a look at some of our native berrying Viburnums and highlighted a few cultivars that stood out from the crowd. In Part 2 of this mini series of posts,...
View ArticleDamn Good Plants - Mahonia x media 'Winters Sun'
For us at the garden center, Thanksgiving marks the end of the garden shopping calender. The customers switch gears from working outside in the garden to hanging swags and trimming the Christmas tree....
View ArticleDamn Good Plants - Red twig Dogwoods, Part One
Part One - Tatarian Dogwoods Nakedness is something you don't often think of when gardening. Not that I'm advocating naked gardening, time is cruel, and my mental image of myself is far from reality....
View ArticleDamn good plants - Red twig Dogwoods, Part two
Part Two - Red-Osier Dogwood Basket - Flickr, Marche Gluharche The Red-Osier dogwood, Cornus sericea (syn. C.stolonifera) is North America's native answer to the Siberian Tatarian dogwood, Cornus...
View ArticleDamn good plants - Red twig dogwoods Part 3
If there was ever a plant you might refer too as a drag queen then the Blood twig dogwood, Cornus sanguinea would take the crown, or would it be tiara? Largely over looked through most of the year,...
View ArticleFungus Gnats
Around this time of year, a steady stream of people come to garden centers all reporting the same problem. Small annoying flies keep appearing around the base of their beloved house plants and no...
View ArticleYou get what you pay for!
Hey, it still cuts! Have you ever met someone who runs a business and wondered how in the hell they ever managed to keep going? I've noticed for sometime now that there's quite a few people running...
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