-
April Tree of the Month-Crabapple
If one could bottle up the scents of childhood, for me, it would be the lingering smell of melting tinsel against C7 Christmas tree bulbs, The sharp scent of Bactine on scraped knees,…
-
April Shrub of the Month-Burkwood Viburnum
Burkwood Viburnum, Viburnum x burkwoodii is what we call a “hybrid” in the plant world. If you aren’t a botanist or horticulturalist, that little “x” in the botanical name is the clue that…
-
April Perennial of the Month-Dutchman’s Breeches
April is the best month to walk in the woods and view some of our native ephemerals. These plants have evolved to live in areas of Eastern North America once covered by forest.…
-
A Visit to the Shoenberg Arid House
It might have been a cool, wet spring so far, but things are hot and dry down at Missouri Botanical Garden. Hot as in “arid,” unlike the typical St. Louis Summer known for…
-
March ANTI-Tree of the Month-Ornamental/Bradford Pear
A good indicator of a subdivision’s or development’s age is the type of tree planted en masse by the builder. Silver maples, sweet gums, crabapples, pin oaks, elms …These trees all took a…
-
March Shrub of the Month-Flowering Quince
One of the first shrubs to bloom in early spring is an old-fashioned favorite rarely seen in new gardens: flowering quince. Not to be confused with edible quince, Cydonia oblonga, the two most…
-
March Perennial of the Month-Spring Beauty
Cuteness alert! Tulips can be bold and beautiful, and daffodils can be stunning or stoic, but when a lawn full of charming spring beauties comes alive, it usually brings a sweet smile of…
-
February Tree of the Month-Japanese White Pine
Let’s start with an important structure lesson…you have your general ‘Plant-Geeks’ that like plants, gardening, etc. At least, that’s how non-plant-geek would describe them. However, among us Plant-Geeks, there are, as I like…
-
February Shrub of the Month-Bowling Ball Arborvitae
Plants can be beautiful. Plants can be ugly. Plants can be everything in between. Thuja occidentalis ‘Bobozam’ MR. BOWLING BALL, aka Bowling Ball arborvitae, is one shrub that, to some people, goes from…
-
February Perennial of the Month-HUSH PUPPY Fountain Grass
The longer you garden, the more “problem plants” you encounter. This is, unfortunately, how most budding gardeners learn. We see a plant that we MUST HAVE, and before we know it, it becomes…
