Pieris japonica, also known as Japanese Pieris, Japanese Andromeda, or Lily-of-the-Valley Plant, is a hardy and versatile evergreen shrub that provides excellent color and interest throughout the season. During the spring season, bell-shaped, lily-of-the-valley-like blooms provide cascading color to signal the beginning of the new season. But this isn’t the only show that Japanese Pieris… Read More
What could be more enjoyable than relaxing in your favorite lawn chair or hammock, your sunglasses on, and a cool beverage in hand, staring at an enchanting array of colorful butterflies milling around their favorite plant? What could possibly be an easier way to accomplish this vision than by planting a simple butterfly bush? About… Read More
Japanese Maples are known for their unique form, delicate and colorful leaves, and smooth bark. These traits give Japanese maples year-round appeal for any garden or landscape, both traditional as well as themed. The amount to choose from is quite overwhelming, as there are more than 300 cultivars available today. With so many options, it’s… Read More
Crape Myrtles were native to China, Japan, and Korea and introduced to Charleston, South Carolina, and the United States in 1790. Crape Myrtles are chiefly known for their colorful long lasting flowers that bloom 60 to 90 days in the summer. Flowers are borne in summer and autumn in panicles of crinkled flowers with a crepe-like… Read More
Hydrangea: Summer-Long Color and More No other group of shrubs we know has undergone such a transformation in recent years as Hydrangeas. For generations, Hydrangeas had languished as dependable, if unexciting, shrubs whose large, pale flower heads provided useful filler for the midsummer garden. Then in 2003, a Midwestern plant breeder introduced Endless Summer, a… Read More
American boxwood? English boxwood? Japanese boxwood? What’s the difference?! American boxwood, Buxus sempervirens, has many different cultivars. For example- Graham Blandy (Buxus sempervirens ‘Graham Blandy’) is an American boxwood variety. Most American boxwood cultivars are cold tolerant, with leaves that are rather long ovals with more pointed tips. English boxwood, Buxus sempervirens ‘Suffruticosa’, is a… Read More
Camellias are large, attractive, broad-leaved evergreen shrubs that are highly prized for their flowers, which bloom from winter to spring There are more than 2300 named cultivars registered with the American Camellia Society. The most commonly used camellias include cultivars of Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica), Sasanqua camellia C. sasanqua), tea-oil camellia (C. oleifera), tea camellia… Read More
Winter in the Mid-Atlantic region does not mean your garden has to be lifeless — full of dull greens and browns. Aside from the fabulous bark textures and conifers you can add to your landscape, here are some plants that flower in winter! Winter Aconite Winter Aconite (Eranthis) is a small bulb in bloom now… Read More
Daylilies are not your grandmother’s yellow and orange summer flowers growing out by the mailbox anymore. The genus Hemerocallis (Daylilies) has gone through tremendous hybridization in the past ten years. Many of the daylily species produced for today’s gardeners have been manipulated by adding sets of chromosomes (Tetraploid) to the plant which aids in producing… Read More
A perennial groundcover, Creeping Phlox (Phlox subulata), also known as moss pink or moss phlox, spreads to display a thick blanket of blooms in vibrant shades of pink, lavender, red, white, or bluish-purple every spring. Creeping Phlox is a sturdy, low-maintenance plant that camouflages an unsightly slope or other difficult areas in the landscape as… Read More