One of the classes I took in my Master Gardener’s continuing education was taught by Roy Diblik, plantsman, designer and author of The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden book. He is the owner of Perennial Farm, a nursery in Burlington, Wisconsin and is best known as the plantsman behind the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park in […]
Archive for the ‘Perennials’ Category
The Last Whisper of Fall
My gardening goal each year is to have something blooming from earliest spring until the snow flies. A couple of years ago, I discovered Ryan’s Pink Mum, an upright chrysanthemum with single soft pink flowers and yellow centers. This mum is beautiful, exceptionally hardy and survives with virtually no pampering. To me however, the most […]
The Coral Bell Mystery
Coral Bells or Heuchera are grown primarily for their attractive leaf color and I have a lot of them planted in our yard. They live in mostly partial shade and provide a burst of color in the front of my flower beds. Through the years, I tried many different coral bells and had good luck […]
World’s Largest Rose Tree
While visiting Tombstone, Arizona we toured the Rose Tree Museum said to contain the largest rose tree in the world as confirmed by the Guiness Book of World Records. History of the Rose Tree This rose came originally from China to Scotland and then was brought to Tombstone by Mary Gee, a Scottish girl who […]
Astilbe, Graceful Shade Perennial
Our yard is quite shady and I spend a lot of time researching plants that are likely to do well. One plant that is intriguing to me is astilbe. It is a perennial that sports beautiful, showy flowers atop glossy, fern–like foliage. The fact that it blooms for quite a long time in summer is […]
Growing Knock Out Roses
As a beginning gardener, I did not have much luck with roses. Mine struggled along and had a few blooms each summer, but they always had lot of aphids and got black spot pretty much every year. My roses were like a sickly child. Of course you love them, but they just don’t thrive, even […]