As Digital Content Editor Christine Alexander explains, pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystem and we should all be doing our part to support their populations:
21.07.2023 - 22:31 / awaytogarden.com
I BOUGHT A QUINCE SHRUB last year, seduced in part by its peachy-colored flowers and also by the fact that even here in deer country, I see big old Chaenomeles specimens standing near the roadside, without protection, the apparent survivors of many years of possible browsing. I wanted something low-care and at least somewhat deer-resistant for a spot outside my giant fence. Little did I know that it would not be deer, but the snowplow, that would be this charming plant’s greatest obstacle to survival.My choice was the Chaenomeles named ‘Cameo’ (above photo) as this double-flowered cultivar is called. It is variously identified as Chaenomeles x superba (a hybrid between the Japanese species C. japonica and the taller C. speciosa, a Chinese type, says the Missouri Botanical Garden) or simply C. speciosa (by woody plant expert Michael Dirr, author of the industry “bible” of woody plants). Dirr says it’s one of his favorite quinces, and “a long a prized plant in the Dirr garden.”
Of course nobody agrees on the habit or size of ‘Cameo,’ either, with wholesale nursery Monrovia calling it “good for a mounding groundcover or on a slope,” at a mature size of maybe 3 feet high and 5 wide, about what Missouri Botanical lists. Nonsense, Dirr apparently believes, writing that it’s twice that. Hardiness? The opinion poll says Zones 4 or 5 to 8 or 9.
As ever, with this kind of conflicting “expert” help, it’s a wonder that gardeners ever know where to place a plant or how much room to leave–which is why I never believe plant labels but go home and compare several sources at a minimum. But who cares with ‘Cameo’? This one had me at its extravagant flowers, which come early, before the foliage is fully open. Quinces also produce
As Digital Content Editor Christine Alexander explains, pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystem and we should all be doing our part to support their populations:
Flowers are usually the first things that grab our attention when we are selecting plants to add to our landscapes. However, most plants only flower for a short period of time, so it behooves us to consider plants’ other attributes—and there are many! Sometimes the same flowers that seduced us into opening our wallets are replaced with an amazing fruit display. Colorful fruits of all shapes and sizes can add drama to our landscapes throughout the year. In addition to their visual beauty, many fruits are important sources of nutrition for wildlife, particularly birds. Here are a few examples of awesome plants whose fruit shines in the garden in summer, fall, and winter.
Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.
In the cold wet winter it is a good time to plan where to visit as the year improves. The South West is the obvious place to start your visiting tour of gardens containing exotic plants.
‘The Garden of Reading: An Anthology of Twentieth-century Short Fiction About Gardens and Gardeners’ edited by Michele Slung.
Arduaine Garden in Scotland is well-known in international Rhododendron circles for the number of wonderful species grown here, many of which are considered tender elsewhere and grow unusually under a canopy of mature Japanese larch. To some people, rhododendrons are those unpleasant purple-flowered objects which clog up our native woodlands. This is but one species, Rhododendron ponticum or a hybrid of it which spreads rapidly both by seed and sucker. Arduaine’s collection is extensive containing about 400 distinct species. The rhododendrons range from the large-leaved giants such as Rhododendron protistum, Rhododendron sinogrande and Rhododendron macabeanum to the small-leaved, high altitude plants which are often classed as rock plants, a sample of which would include Rhododendron fastigiatum, impeditum and orthocladum. In between these two extremes sit the majority of species of differing sizes with a variety of foliage shapes and an astonishing range of flower colour and form. One of the specialities is the only Rhododendron from Ceylon – Rhododendron arboreum subsp. zeylanicum.
Colorful ferns can be an excellent addition to any garden or indoor plant collection. These plants are characterized by their beautiful, vibrant fronds ranging from shades of pink, red, yellow, and even purple.
My name is John Rohde. My garden is located 15 miles north of Baltimore in Towson, Maryland, in Zone 7b. This is the second full year for this pandemic garden. I enjoy mixing annuals and perennials with trees and tropicals in containers. There is a water feature, tubs of lotus, a patio, and a vegetable garden at the rear of my house.
Cardamom vs Coriander – well, there might be a lot to talk about, especially when you want to clear the air of – Is Coriander The Same As Cardamom. Let’s find out!
Birthdays require flowers. Make mine peonies, one of the best perks of a June birthday. I am currently overrun by them, and the house actually smells too sweet; I had to put several vases outside. I even had the first-ever tree peony blossoms of my garden career (above) to cheer me this time around. That’s ‘Yellow Crown,’ which produced its first two flowers this year. Tada! Looks like a cupcake with lots of frosting, doesn’t it?Birthdays require gifts, and Jack the Demon Cat took care of this one already. Yes, another weasel tail on the front doormat (above); making four in the last week. Wish he’d stick to chipmunk
This first-ever columnar conifer in my garden career came about quite by accident. I was actually looking for what a friend refers to as “a blob” (a sort of lumpy, wider-than-tall, hummocky-shaped shrub) to replace a Daphne ‘Carol Mackie’ that was badly snow-damaged last fall.Shop as I might for the right new “blob,” I saw nothing that was just right. And then I bumped into another friend at the garden center, who said, “Why not something vertical instead? Change it up.” Aha!punctuation points i considered:<a href=«http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/plant-finder/plant-details/kc/f930/thuja-occidentalis-degroot» s-spire.aspx>Thuja occidentalis ‘Degroot’s Spire:’ Ilex crenata ‘Sky Pencil’ (Japanese holly): Grows to 10 feet and 2-3 feet wide; will need help, such as from a cat’s cradle of fishing lin
THE LATEST BOOK GIVEAWAY–which was a smashing success–ended at midnight Sunday, but there’s a “win” for everyone, it turns out. Collaborator and author Katrina Kenison and I asked commenters to tell us about books they’d relied on in times of transition…and wow, did they ever.