Stokes Aster

If you’re looking for a beautiful native plant that attracts a variety of pollinators, Stokes’ Aster (Stokesia laevis) is a good choice. I spent an hour in the Perennial border in the South Carolina Botanical Garden on the last Thursday in May observing this plant.

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to get exclusive access to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show? Well, your dreams have come true because in this exclusive interview we got an all-access pass to THE horticultural event of the year thanks to Annie Guilfoyle, a 2024 judge. Annie is co-founder of Garden Masterclass in the UK and an award wining garden designer who earned a Silver Medal at Cheslea years ago for her innovative landscape design. Annie is just back from the show this year and shares details from her favorite gardens, interesting new plants that caught her attention, and even some celebrity gossip from those stars that were in attendance at the show. (Spoiler alert: she did not  see Lady Whistledown at the Bridgerton -themed garden). We discussed how native plants and sustainable practices played a role in this year’s event and talk about themes of water conservation and hardscape upcycling.   

Sometimes plants are just like us gardeners and can’t wait to get going at the beginning of the season. Often our gardens trumpet forth in a symphony of color and texture but then start to fade out as autumn approaches, leaving us to wish for some awesome soloist to come in and take over the show. This is where ‘Grape Crush’ New England aster comes to the rescue.

Happy Easter! It has been so wet the last few days that a canoe would be of more use than a wheelbarrow. The forecast for the week ahead doesn’t look any better, but today it has been dry all morning. Since it looks as though I am going to be crazy busy with work this month, I thought I would take the opportunity to do the next batch of seed sowing, and so I headed out into the garden. I was greeted by the first asparagus spear of the season – and we get to harvest some this year!

No (snow) platforming this Easter

If you have a garden, you likely have one or more members of the aster family (Asteraceae) growing. This is the largest family of flowering plants, with about 1,100 genera and more than 20,000 species. They range from sunflowers and daisies to dandelions, lettuce, and chicory. The only other family of flowering plants with a similar number of species are legumes and orchids.

Beautiful trees and plants are an excellent way to upgrade your property’s look to its best and what could be better than to see them thrive fast and healthy. This guide will give you all the Tips to Grow Plants and Trees Faster!

The alpine aster, Aster alpinus, is a short-lived cold weather perennial in the very large Asteraceae family that includes daisies, dahlias, and sunflowers.This herbaceous ornamental species is unique for having an earl

A must-have Fall perennial that surprises and over-performs. These tiny daisy flowers are a delight when most gardens have an autumnal look with golden tones and rustic shades.

The aster is a sturdy-stemmed flowering perennial known for its masses of small daisy-like blossoms.There are numerous aster species in several genera within the Asteraceae family that contains chrysanthemums, daisie

Calico aster, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, formerly Aster lateriflorus, is a native perennial flower that blooms from midsummer to mid-fall.It rejuvenates fall gardens with masses of tiny white blossoms, with striking reddish-purple to

Of all the Asters which we have grown, Frikartii Monch stands out as one of our favourites.