English Ivy

Posted in Featured Articles, groundcover, plant profiles, vines Beloved of some and bane to others, English Ivy, Hedera helix, is a groundcover/climber that I happen to love. It is on the PCA “Least Wanted” List,  so caveats are sprinkled through this profile.  One way I love to use English ivy is in containers, they will readily grow in any type of plant container; indoors as well as out. Good as groundcover, especially where bulbs...
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Phlox Subulata Planting Hints

Posted in easy garden lessons, plant profiles Another Plant Profile from ilonasgarden.com Once upon a time I grew pink Phlox subulata in a rock garden; in my garden, now, the blue variety is grown as a ground cover.  It produces a beautiful bright spot of color in the spring, no matter where you situate it.  Later, it has a pleasing textured green carpet of foliage, earning the “moss” appellation.  Phlox subulata is native...
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The Weed I Love To Grow

Posted in herbs, plant profiles Dill Weed.  I love this plant, and it is so easy to grow… as easy as a weed! If you plant Dill in a cultivated area such as an annually tilled vegetable garden, the seeds will come up for you year after year. Both the seeds and the finely divided feathery textured leaves are edible. The flowers appear on broad umbels and turn to seeds that can be harvested for flavoring recipes ranging...
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Hellebores: Christmas and Lenten Roses

Posted in Featured Articles, perennials, pink flowers, plant profiles, white flowers Last year (2009) I purchased some potted hellebore plants on clearance from Whole Foods Market. I had read about them many times in gardening books over the years, and their fresh creamy white blooms fairly sang out to me, so I promptly snapped up three pots (one is featured in my photo, to the left). I kept them on a sunny windowsill until it was time to plant them in the spring, and wrote in...
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Mugo Pine, Swiss Mountain Pine

Posted in Featured Articles, plant profiles, shrubs Mugo Pines are dwarf trees, and they keep their shape well with yearly attention in the spring. . The right way and time to prune a mugo is when the new growth (candles) sprout out in mid spring; it doesn’t take very much time to trim them, then. This is the biggest question I get on the blog: when and how should I prune a mugo pine? The tip growth is called a “candle” due to...
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Amelanchier, The Service Tree

Posted in plant profiles, trees I wondered why this tree was called the “Service Tree” or the “Serviceberry”. One story tells it that its bloom signaled when the graves could be dug in the spring in Appalachia. These types of trees are also called “Juneberry” and “Shadbush”, and it is in June that you find the pretty blue hued berries. Whatever name it is known by, this small,...
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