Author's posts
Jan 24
Paperbush Care
Paperbush is one of those shrubs that can make a winter garden feel unexpectedly alive. While many deciduous plants are bare and dormant, Edgeworthia chrysantha produces rounded clusters of silky buds that open into fragrant cream-and-yellow flowers on leafless stems. The flowers are only part of the appeal. Once blooming finishes, large blue-green leaves emerge …
Jan 24
Mahonia Care
Mahonia is an evergreen shrub that earns its place in the garden during seasons when many other plants are quiet. Depending on the species, glossy or finely textured foliage remains attractive throughout winter, clusters of bright yellow flowers appear from fall through spring, and blue-purple berries can follow later in the season. The name Mahonia …
Jan 24
Glory of the Snow Care
Glory of the snow is one of the earliest bulbs to bring real color back to the garden. Its small star-shaped flowers can appear while patches of snow still linger, creating carpets of blue, lavender, pink, or white close to the ground. These hardy little bulbs are best known under the traditional genus name Chionodoxa, …
Jan 23
Lenten Rose Care
Lenten rose is one of the most valuable perennials for bringing flowers into the garden when winter has barely finished. While many plants are still dormant, mature hellebores can produce clusters of nodding flowers in white, cream, pink, rose, burgundy, purple, green, yellow, and almost-black shades. Despite its common name, Lenten rose is not a …
Jan 23
Winterberry Care
Winterberry is one of the best shrubs for adding color to a garden after the flowers are gone and the leaves have fallen. By late fall, female plants can be covered with clusters of brilliant red berries that remain exposed on bare branches through much of winter, creating a display that is especially striking against …
Jan 23
Camellia Care
Camellias bring something unusual to the garden: large, rose-like flowers during the months when many other shrubs are dormant. Depending on the species and cultivar, a camellia may begin flowering in fall, continue through winter, or wait until late winter and early spring. Even when they are not blooming, camellias remain attractive. Their glossy evergreen …
Jan 22
Winter Aconite Care
Winter aconite is one of the earliest flowers to appear in the garden, sometimes opening its bright yellow blooms while snow still lies nearby. The plants are tiny—usually only a few inches tall—but a mature colony can transform otherwise bare late-winter ground into a carpet of golden flowers surrounded by fresh green foliage. The botanical …
Jan 22
Snowdrop Care
Snowdrops are among the first flowers to announce that winter is beginning to loosen its grip. Their small white blooms can emerge while snow is still on the ground, sometimes weeks before daffodils, tulips, and many other familiar spring flowers appear. The botanical genus is Galanthus, a group of hardy perennial bulbs in the amaryllis …
Jan 22
Boltonia Care
Boltonia is a tall, airy North American perennial that can cover itself with hundreds of small daisy-like flowers from late summer into fall. At a time when many summer flowers are beginning to fade, its branching stems create a cloud of white, pale pink, lavender, or violet blooms above blue-green foliage. The species most commonly …
Jan 22
New England Aster Care
New England aster is one of the great flowers of the late-season garden. Just as summer begins giving way to fall, tall stems that have spent months quietly growing burst into masses of purple, violet, lavender, pink, or occasionally white daisy-like flowers with bright yellow centers. The botanical name is Symphyotrichum novae-angliae. Older books and …
