Mexican Salvia – Salvia leucantha
Also known as Mexican bush sage, this salvia produces great fall color (purple and white) that attracts hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. It looks great mixed in with other flowers for interesting...
View ArticleLandscape Solutions for the Base of Trees
Leaving the base of the tree bare can often look unkempt or out of place since it’s not easy to mow right up to the edge of a tree or to even weed-eat around it carefully. Plantings or mulching around...
View ArticleColeus: Colorful Shade Plants Easily Grown From Seed or Cuttings
Coleus are known for their colorful leaves and are a great addition to shaded or part-sun areas of your garden. There are some cultivars that are more tolerant of sun, so be sure to read the labels on...
View ArticleAttract Hummingbirds and Butterflies with Bee Balm (Monarda spp)
If you’re looking for a native, perennial plant to add to your garden that will be easy to care for, add great color to your garden, and also attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies, bee balm...
View ArticleCutleaf Coneflower: Rudbeckia laciniata
Native to North America, this tall flowering perennial in the Asteraceae family makes a statement in my garden. Not only is it a prolific bloomer, but it also attracts all sorts of insects – bees,...
View ArticleBear’s Foot or Hairy Leafcup
Native to the eastern United States, up to Michigan, and across to Texas and Kansas, this perennial plant can be found in forest gaps, along the edges of fields and forests, in thickets, bottomlands,...
View ArticleRosepink (Sabatia angularis)
This beauty can be found growing in the majority of the United States. It is native to the eastern U.S. – as far east as Kansas and Illinois and down to New Mexico and north to Wisconsin. It is also...
View ArticleRed Buckeye Flowers For Butterflies, Bees, and Hummingbirds
Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) The bright red flowers of this native shrub are a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies in early spring. In the southeast, it blooms in late March and early April and...
View ArticleCommon Blue Violet (Viola sororia)
The little purple-blue flowers of common blue violet are blooming all over my grass under the trees, where it stays moist for long periods of time. I always try to mow around them as much as I can so...
View ArticleColorful Shade Container Garden Part I
If you’ve got shade but still want color, here is an example of how to add color to your shade gardens in containers. Read this earlier post for suggestions of plants with colorful leaves or flowers...
View ArticleCamellia
The camellia (Camellia japonica) is the state flower of Alabama. There are a lot of cultivars of this species, providing a ton of variety in color and form. This shrub has dark green, waxy-looking...
View ArticleTrees for Your Southern Landscape: A Walk through the Forest in Your Backyard
As gardeners, we usually think of flowering plants and vegetables when we think of our gardens, but trees and shrubs play an important role as well. Trees provide shelter, food, and nesting sites for...
View ArticlePineapple Sage – A New Favorite in My Garden
I attended our local garden show last year and was thrilled to find they had some great butterfly and hummingbird plants for sale. One of the plants I purchased was pineapple sage (Salvia elegans)....
View ArticleBeautiful, Large Blooms of the Oak Leaf Hydrangea Shrub
Oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a favorite of native plant gardeners for many reasons. If you’re looking for a shrub that is hardy, produces beautiful flowers, can grow in the shade, and...
View ArticleSpotted Jewelweed: Touch-me-not plant
If you’ve got soil that stays wet most of the time, then this is the plant for you. It’s native to most of the lower 48 states and it prefers shade to part-shade – even better! In its native habitat,...
View ArticleWhen a Dogwood isn’t a Dogwood at All
The yard of the house I lived in two years ago was lined at the edge with these beautiful flowering shrubs. I had never seen them before and the neighbors told me they were English dogwoods. The...
View ArticleWhat’s the Buzz about Joe Pye Weed?
Despite the name, you’ll find this ‘weed’ in more and more gardens. It’s a good garden staple for attracting pollinators from bees to butterflies. I planted it last fall and this summer the blooms have...
View ArticleBringing in the Beauty of Spring
Spring Beauties Just when I reach my limit with the bleakness of winter and cold temperatures, the tiniest of pink striped flowers start to poke their heads out of lawns and ditches. To me, the...
View ArticleA Living Wall of Shade Plants in a Colorful Pattern
You never know where you will come across amazing gardening ideas or unique plants. I wouldn’t necessarily think a zoo is a great place to find gardening ideas, but on a recent trip to the John Ball...
View ArticleLandscape Solutions for the Base of Trees
Updated: July 8, 2017 Leaving the base of the tree bare can often look unkempt or out of place since it’s not easy to mow right up to the edge of a tree or to even weed-eat around it carefully....
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