Featured plants in the Lou!
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January Tree of the Month-Southern magnolia
When it’s below zero, snowing, sleeting, and just plain miserable outdoors, it might help to conjure visions of the deep South. Warm temps and even warmer Southern Charm are one thing the southern…
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January Shrub of the Month-Yew
When I purchased my current home in 1995, the front yard was a poster child of typical mid-century foundation plantings with a square-shaped yew (Taxus spp.) hedge in the standard position under the front…
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January Perennial of the Month-Sweet flag
The typical perennial shade garden usually includes plenty of hostas, ferns, and heucheras. The typical perennial shade garden also looks pretty darn bland over the winter months…in fact, some look completely barren. Winter…
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December Perennial of the Month-Blue grama grass
It’s the time of year when we talk about ‘winter interest’ again. Gardens with primarily perennial plantings can look fantastic from spring through fall. But once the freezes set in and most perennials…
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December Shrub of the Month-Red twig dogwood
The muted colors of the winter garden palette have some showy stand-outs, and one is the red-twig dogwood Cornus sericea. (Formerly known as Cornus stolonifera.)Red twig dogwood grows typically 6-9′ high and wide.…
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December Tree of the Month-Eastern white pine
The noble white pine (Pinus strobus) has a long, rich history in the U.S. David Culross Peattie (A Natural History of Trees) goes as far as to say, “In the three hundred years…
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November Tree of the Month-Bald cypress
Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) can be described as the evergreen that really isn’t. In summer, the needles look like other evergreen conifers such as yew or spruce, but come fall, they turn a…
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November Shrub of the Month-Oakleaf hydrangea
Hydrangeas are some of the most versatile shrubs for St. Louis. There is a hydrangea for just about every garden location. Wet and shady, full sun and dry, Dry shade! Tight spots and…
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November Perennial of the Month-Autumn fern
Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora), also called Japanese shield fern, is native to Asia but does well in St. Louis shade gardens without becoming aggressive or invasive. In spring, the new fronds emerge with a…
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October Perennial of the Month-Stonecrop
Oh, the joys of Autumn Joy sedum. There is a reason this cultivar has been around for so long. It’s tough. long-lived, and it performs in fall, giving our late-season gardens a very…
