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; [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

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). [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

There have been times when the full blossomed Annabelle fairly burst forth in the garden, and I was embarrassed by her almost obscene abundance of giant orbs of bloom. Ah, Annabelle, “my darling, my darling” – as the famous Poe poem goes, in the right place is no longer brazen, but a sumptuous hydrangea which [...]

Blue Flax is a piece of summer sky fallen into the garden, shimmering blue flowers reflecting clear unclouded heavens. Opening during the sunny days and dropping its petals by afternoon, only seems to add to its charm; Genus Linum narbonense. I’ve grown both Linum narbonense and Linum perenne, and although they are almost identical in [...]

Aquilegia canadensis, Wild Columbine is a woodland plant of springtime. It blooms mid to late spring in my garden. It grows in partly shady, partly sunny openings and waves in the brisk breezes. Native to the U.S. and Eastern Canada, this columbine grows in rocky ledges and slopes, and low woods. Also known as “Eastern [...]

Butterfly weed, Asclepias tuberosa, isn’t as popular as it could be. Maybe the combination of the “weed” appellation and the bright orange color, but this is really a fine garden plant that brings a pleasing “pop” to the garden, no less for its drawing power for butterflies than for its joyful color. It took me [...]

Now called, Hylotelephium erythrostictum ‘Mediovariegatum’. Good for dry, sunny spaces. This variegated sedum has long been one of my favorites. It began as a “passalong” plant from a friend, and as the years went by its fine qualities slowly revealed themselves. For those qualities it gained a place among my favorites- combining good looks and [...]

Chives are part of the culinary herb garden, but can be tucked in anywhere – pots, edges, odd corners of a flower bed. They are easy to grow and easy to harvest, as well as being pretty and polite. They grow from small bulbs and can be multiplied by simply digging up a bit of [...]

Everyone has their opinion of what makes something a joy to the eye. In winter everything is finely edited by our cold weather and killing frosts, but that only means we have a showcase for some plants that make the winter landscape beautiful and interesting. Trees: Crabapples- the bigger and brighter the fruits the better, [...]

Preeminent for winter interest, the Contorted Hazel, Contorted Filbert, or ‘Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick’ all add up to the same beautifully twisted, gnarled branches standing out in the bleak wintertime views. All of these common names refer to one tree, “Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’“. Maybe not everyone will like it, due to the dull summer season [...]

One of my favorite vines for sheer abundance of frothy bloom. When it is in full bloom starting at the end of August, the entire yard is filled with a clean soapy scent. Abuzz with little bees and adorned with butterflies the autumn clematis is an natural entertainment center. I love to sit on the [...]