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I grew up working with my Grandmother in her garden in Virginia.  She had grown up on a tobacco farm in Tennessee and had an amazing capacity for yard work.  The two of us planted hundreds of daffodils – in her opinion they were the best bulb – deer resistant, perennial, and no maintenance.  Over the years I’ve planted hundreds more daffodils – both for myself and our clients, during the fall.  However, I don’t have much experience with bulbs that you plant in the spring.  I decided it was time to learn about these plants – read on to learn more.

Hedychium sp.

Last fall, I was sitting around the kitchen table having tea with my sister. We decided to take a tour of my garden and identify plants that I can make tea from. Read on to learn about which plants I plan to use for tea.
Camellia sinensis (Fall Blooming Camellia) and Dried Tea Leaves

The first plant that jumped out was one of my Camellias. Camellia sinensis leaves and leaf buds are a nice choice for homemade tea. If you like Oolong tea, try making this.

Winter is a great time to plan your garden and many local gardens offer fantastic programming during this time. Last year I attended the Winter Symposium at JC Raulston Arboretum, and wanted to share two fabulous books for gardeners planning a new space.

I started planting my garden in 2009 and over the last nine years I’ve used up most of the open space available. At this point any plant that gets added has to be pretty special to make it the cut in my limited remaining space. This year I had the opportunity to add two new shrubs, and I selected Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ and Chamecyparis ‘Kosteri’. Read on to learn why.

Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ – Purple Smokebush

I incorporate a variety of walkways and paths into my landscape designs. Some factors to consider when choosing which material to use are budget, tree presence, and frequency of use. Read on to learn about how I decide what type of material to use for a walkway.

Natural Stone Walkway

I enjoy working with clients that have a low stacked stone wall or a retaining wall for a steep slope, because it gives me the chance to incorporate plants that will highlight this feature into their design. Read on to learn about some examples of plant choices that spill over the edge of retaining walls.

Every plant looks great when it’s shown in a catalog, and most plants look pretty great at the garden center when they are receiving tons of care and attention. However, as someone who has gardened for over a decade I’ve learned that lots of great looking plants can fail once installed in the landscape – especially my landscape where I expect them to thrive on neglect! Read on to learn about two plants that have taken a licking and kept on ticking in my yard.

Nyssa sylvatica – Black Gum

I planted a garden space almost three years ago dedicated to attracting butterflies. My plants provide food, shelter, and a place to reproduce. Read on to learn about three successful plants I used and why.

My Butterfly Garden and Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly Feeding on Lantana
One stellar plant for this space is Lantana camara ‘Miss Huff’. This plant gets quite large and loaded with a variety of butterflies. Lantana ‘Miss Huff’ is a perennial that offers nectar all summer and fall until the first hard frost. I’ve seen monarchs feeding on it in as late as October as they are migrating south.

I’m always on the hunt for interesting new planting combinations and garden features, especially those that lend themselves to residential scale landscape design. It’s easy to be inspired by magazine photos of estate gardens which have been professionally designed, installed, and maintained, but that type of garden is outside the reach of most people. So, when I find a garden space that I think really works, I like to examine it closely, to see what I can learn and apply in my own designs. Read on to learn about one such space – the new herb garden at the Museum of Life and Science.

Container plantings are a nice way to add color and interest to a porch, patio, or landscape. People tend to plant annuals in their containers, which can be expensive and high maintenance over time. I prefer to use perennials for containers that will last for multiple seasons. Read on to learn some examples of perennial container combinations for shade.