I know that this is hard for many people. The annuals you've planted early in the summer are finally starting to put out their first flowers, and some gardener like me tells you to cut those off immediately. "What?" you think...
Every week on GardenLine on WXTK I start the show off with "I Love This Plant/I Hate This Plant." One look at the titles of most of these blog posts will show you that the plants I love far outnumber the ones I hate. Frankly,...
Name: Juniperus procumbens nana aka green mound juniper Type of Plant: A ground cover juniper…truthfully, the only one I commonly recommend. Hardy zone 4 to 9. Why I Love/Hate this plant: In general, junipers are really great plants that are misused and abused by people who...
Name: Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ aka yellow Hakon grass, aka yellow Japanese forest grass. Type of Plant Low, graceful clumping grass that likes part-shade and adds color and texture to the garden from spring until hard frost. Growing a foot and a half tall...
Name: Browallia hybrid named Endless Illumination from Proven Winners Type of Plant: Short annual for part to full shade. Why I Love/Hate this plant: This is a purple-blue flowering annual for shade…unusual in itself. But I love it because it is reliable, long-flowering and it plays...
Name: Anemone blanda Type of Plant: spring bulb that blooms blue, white or pink daisy like flowers in early April. Why I Love/Hate this plant: One of the most cheerful spring flowers, and they spread because they self-seed. Plant them around daffodils and in perennial gardens....
Name: Bowiea volubilis aka the climbing onion Type of Plant: This member of the lily family is from South Africa and is a favorite “pass along house plant.” Why I Love/Hate this plant: I love this plant because the contrast between the big, shiny bulb and...
As I finished my sermon for Sunday at the UU Church of Barnstable, I was reminded of this post I wrote on Whole Life Gardening a few years ago. It's a long overdue thank you note. Dear Gardens, Yesterday I was reminded that sending you a note...
As I walked through the gardens with my coffee this morning, what caught my eye were tall Gomphocarpus physocarpus plants in the cutting garden. These are some of my regular "party crashers," self-seeding in the same area every year, and delighting me with sturdy growth,...
It is often my habit to take my morning coffee outside in the morning and see what catches my eye. Today, it was Hibiscus tiliaceus variegata, aka Mahoe or variegated sea hibiscus, or seaside Mahoe. [caption id="attachment_20146" align="aligncenter" width="680"] Even from across the deck the Hibiscus tiliaceus...
