It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer. These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”. Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants. Here is why…
The Fuchsia flower is somewhat unique in the world of gardening, sporting a pronounced corolla and often contrasting sepal color, all in a pendent-type flower. Over the eons, these are plants that have evolved right alongside their pollinating partners, the hummingbirds. They provide rich nectar for our winged friends, but also…
I am going to go out on a limb here and make a brash statement: “perfection in the garden is fleeting”. Yes, it is sadly true… Earlier this spring I was congratulating myself on how nicely all of my many perennials (probably too many if I am honest with myself) were knitting themselves together and gradually obliterating any bare, visible soil. That is still happening, to be sure, but along the way some of my early bloomers have “gone over” and it is time to take another look at what I can plop in and around them to keep things looking colorful and interesting…
I don’t think that I am alone when I say that I am drawn to plants with foliage that is anything other than green. Anyone looking for dark foliage that does well in shade is hard pressed to find many options. If your search for dark foliaged plants for shade has left you frustrated, look no more. Here are a few choices that are well worth incorporating into your garden…
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
I often refer to myself as a “plant enabler”, a sort of legal dealer that tries his best to hook his customers up with the best plants for their landscapes. Plants are easy to get addicted to, believe me, and running a garden center means you are surrounded on a daily basis by treasures that beckon you to take them home, plant them, and watch them flourish - even if you are out of room, just ask my poor wife. If I jump in a time machine to some 30 years ago, I can see…