Jan 22
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
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 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 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 …
Jan 22
Autumn Joy sedum is one of the most dependable perennials for carrying a garden from summer into fall. Its sturdy stems and succulent green leaves form neat clumps through spring and summer, then broad clusters of tiny flowers begin changing from pale green to soft pink, deep rose, rusty red, and finally coppery brown as …
Jan 22
Leadwort is a low-growing perennial groundcover that saves some of its best color for the end of the growing season. For much of spring and early summer, the plant forms a spreading mat of fresh green foliage. Then, from midsummer into fall, brilliant blue flowers begin appearing above the leaves. As temperatures cool, the foliage …
Jan 22
Hardy fuchsias bring an almost tropical look to the garden without necessarily requiring a greenhouse or winter indoors. Their slender arching stems can carry hundreds of dangling flowers in combinations of red, pink, purple, violet, and white from midsummer until frost, creating one of the longest flowering displays available from a garden shrub. The species …
Jan 21
Nippon daisy is a sturdy late-blooming perennial that waits until much of the summer garden is beginning to fade before covering itself with crisp white daisy-like flowers. Its glossy, thick green foliage gives the plant an almost shrubby appearance through summer, while the fall flowers bring a fresh burst of white and yellow to perennial …
Jan 21
Caryopteris is a compact late-flowering shrub prized for clouds of intensely blue flowers that appear just when much of the summer garden is beginning to slow down. From late summer into early fall, its slender stems become lined with fuzzy-looking blue, violet-blue, or lavender flower clusters that attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. The …
Jan 21
Balloon flower is a long-lived summer perennial known for one of the most unusual flower buds in the garden. Before opening, each bud swells into a round, inflated shape resembling a tiny hot-air balloon. The bud eventually unfolds into a broad, star-shaped bell in shades of blue, violet, pink, or white. The botanical name is …
