Luscious and delicate are the words this maidenhair fern brings to mind. Although not fussy, it does appreciate some supplemental water during dry periods. New fronds unfurl in late winter to early spring; shrimp pink when they first emerge, the fronds transition to a glowing chartreuse that slowly deepens to a shamrock green for the summer. This fern spreads by underground runners and weaves through the garden, knitting together shade-loving perennials and shrubs. It is a beautiful and unexpected ground cover for shade. Even though the fronds are evergreen, I trim them down in January before new growth begins.
Princess Nadia ajuga
Ajuga tenorei ‘Piotrek01’
Zones: 4–9
Size: 2 to 6 inches tall and 18 to 24 inches wide
Conditions: Full sun to partial shade; rich, well-drained soil
Native range: Garden origin
Several new ajugas can be found in nurseries these days, but few are as stunning as Princess Nadia. The leaves of this cultivar are smaller than most but make up for that with their brightly variegated patterns. New foliage emerges tinted with purple and pink and then fades to a mix of cream and mint green. A tight, compact grower, Princess Nadia does not spread aggressively like some of its cousins do. In spring it is covered with short spikes of midnight blue flowers. This easy-to-grow perennial is great for edging or for creating a dense ground cover under and around shrubs.
‘Spine Tingler’ epimedium
Epimedium‘Spine Tingler’
zones:5–8
size: 12 to 15 inches tall and 15 to 18 inches wide
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Most gardeners would agree that the best pastime for cold winter days is looking through seed and plant catalogs imagining the growing season to come. With that in mind, consider these four strong summer blooming perennials for the midwest when you are ordering plants in the coming weeks.
Some people are particular about the garden tools they use. Others take it less seriously and are content with the cheapest things they can find. I’m somewhere in the middle. I’m not one to waste money on overpriced brands, but I do want durable tools that last a good while. Just as important, they need to do the job and be up for the conditions under which I’ll be using them.
Seed saving is the art of collecting the seed from your crop and using it in subsequent seasons to grow new plants. Even if you save only small quantities of a few crops, understanding more about the life cycle, breeding tendencies, and botany of your crops will help you manage and care for them more effectively.
From delicate wrist blooms to bold shoulder statements, these Best Chrysanthemum Tattoo Designs are more than just art. Read on and find out fantastic inks you can get on your skin if you’re a fan of mums.
While some may be familiar with Japanese sacred lily (Rohdea japonica, Zones 6–10), Rohdea pachynema is an uncommon species that is indeed a Rohdea less traveled. Found only in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan, it is an intriguing member of the Asparagaceae family that is slowly becoming more available to gardeners. It was formerly known as Campylandra sinensis or C. pachynema, but recent DNA work has moved it into the genus Rohdea, whose name commemorates German botanist Michael Rohde. We can find no documented common name for this species, so we have dubbed it “yellow thread rohdea” since pachynema means “thick thread” (referring to the colored central stripe on the leaves).
Few plants generate more revulsion in the garden than junipers. The mere suggestion of planting one often musters a similar reaction to that of saying a dirty word. Maybe we’ve grown weary of their use as evergreen blobs in foundation plantings. Perhaps the thought of meticulously shearing them into the perfect shape sounds daunting (see pruning tips). It could be an early memory of an itchy rash from an up-close encounter with a juniper’s prickly branches. Or it could be boredom with the sea of creeping blue rug junipers (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’, Zones 3–9) planted in every big-box-store parking lot. Although junipers are a midcentury-modern garden staple, generations of gardeners have since decided they have had enough of these controversial conifers. While it’s easy to dismiss them for their deeply ingrained negative traits, junipers have many merits that make them worth reconsideration.
If you live in a place that gets a fair amount of snow, is it important to have evergreen perennials? For many years we have debated this question around our editorial planning table, and the staff falls into two camps: those who say that ever-green perennials aren’t just for regions that receive little to no snow, and those who see no point in spending money on a category of plants that might be buried out of sight for more than three months.