If I wanted to, I could fill the entire yard with roses of Sharon. So could most people, because roses of Sharon, or Hibiscus syriacus, are among the most prolific garden shrubs. All you need to launch a rose of Sharon world domination campaign is one small specimen anywhere on or near your property. If … Read more
Last fall, while most gardeners were putting in tulip bulbs, the spring-flowering shrubs were quietly going about the annual business of producing the buds from which long-awaited flowers will begin sprouting about a month from now. While we shivered through the winter thinking that the snow-covered branches were asleep, they were, in fact, readying themselves … Read more
I read a lot. It is a nasty habit and it gets me into trouble all the time. For instance, yesterday, I was reading a press release from Spring Meadows Nursery of Grand Haven, Michigan. Some gardeners may know of Spring Meadows. Even more are familiar with their trademarked line of flowering shrubs, Proven Winners™, … Read more
The rose family is filled with plants that combine incredible beauty with dire peril. Roses and raspberries have thorns, but those are nothing compared to the small daggers that bedeck the stems of hawthorns and flowering quinces. There is not a flower lover on earth who, when sighting a flowering quince in full bloom, would … Read more
Look out the window. Does the outdoor landscape make you want to go outside and tackle some garden work? As February ends, the weather can be anything from a blizzard to a sixty degree humidity-fest. It is hard to know what to do. However, if you are like me and have advanced cabin fever, there … Read more
