Every spring I fall in love with my native Red Buckeye Aesculus pavia. When I am desperate for a leaf, any leaf, she comes back first with large, dramatic buds. Nothing else is showing signs of life except the fairy sized footballs on the red buckeye. And soon, when the maples are just flowering, lovely [...]

American hazelnut Corylus americana (filberts) are a valuable shrub in the habitat garden, providing food and breeding sites for backyard wildlife. American hazelnut is native to eastern North America from Maine west to Saskatchewan and North Dakota, south to eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas and south to Georgia. For details on native distribution, please see USDA Plants [...]

The Oakleaf Hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia Alice is still looking just lovely on this February morning. She always has something to offer. I don’t think that there is a time of year when she’s not a quiet beauty. She changes with the seasons, always different, always showing me something new. Read about Oakleaf Hydrangea Hydrangea quercifolia. [...]

Well I screwed up.  Two years ago, after I had cleared out the property and had a pitiful looking yard, I started planting. The first thing to go in was a hedge of beautyberry spp. Callicarpa americana with ninebark Diablo Physocarpus opulifolius behind it. It’s on a woodland edge and just perfect. I thought, “how [...]

This month’s Bloom Day is a native plants for native bees theme once again. I’m a lazy gardener I’ve decided. All of the shrubs presented here are low maintenance, prune and shape if you wish or let go if you don’t feel like it. Basically I just dig a hole (having good soil in the [...]