Category: Ornamental Shrubs

mountain laurel in bloom

Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Heirloom plants / Native Trees / Ornamental Shrubs / Poisonous Plants / Spring / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Mountain Laurel, A Native Shrub to Love

  I love finding mountain laurel growing in large, lovely masses in the wild.  Its creamy pink flowers glow softly in the forest.  Wild mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia, sometimes grows along the undeveloped banks of creeks and rivers in Eastern Virginia.  It grows as an understory shrub in our oak, beach and pine forests. These evergreen shrubs, almost small trees, simply blend into the fabric of the woods through much of the year before bursting into bloom, suddenly elegant and...

Flowering Shrubs / Garden Maintenance / Heirloom plants / Landscape Love / Ornamental Shrubs / Rose Care / Tales from the Help Desk

 by Patsy McGrady

Tales From the Help Desk: Rose Rosette Disease

Q.  My Zephirine Drouhin climbing rose looks odd. There are “frilly” growths, and the buds are very small.  Should I be worried? A. The Heirloom Roses website description of Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’ states that it “may be the most consistently blooming, large, flowered climbing rose, with the added benefit that it is thorn-less.” The variety is thought to have originated in France in 1868. Your rose appears to be infected with rose rosette virus (RRV). This is a virus spread...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Invasive Plants / Keystone Species / Native Plants / Native Trees / Ornamental Shrubs / Permaculture / Poisonous Plants / Wildlife Gardening / Winter

 by Elizabeth McCoy

A Winter Wildlife Garden- “Inviting the Stranger”

  Cardinals nest in a large evergreen shrub beside my kitchen window.  Though the shrub, Ligustrum, is frowned upon by many contemporary gardeners as invasive, the birds don’t know that.  They delight in its abundant berries and the insects that visit year-round. We delight in watching the birds come and go, even as they peer in the windows at us.  We amuse one another.  Cardinals, titmice and other birds also perch in the crape myrtle tree a little further out...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Carbon Garden / Deer / Edible Plants / Evergreen Perennials / Evergreen Shrubs / Fall / Ferns / Flowering Shrubs / Food Forest / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Keystone Species / Lepidoptera / Native Plants / Native Trees / Ornamental Shrubs / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Making the Choice: Native v. Imported Plants

  What do you consider when choosing plants for your home and yard?  We all have a checklist of criteria in the back of our minds.  Our criteria are very personal to our own needs and situation.  You may not purchase and plant as many plants as I do each year, but I’m sure that you enjoy the choosing and the planting just as much.     We gardeners have been encouraged to plant more native plants for quite a...

Beneficial Insects / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Permaculture / Pollinators / Summer Color Plants / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Summer Flowering Trees and Shrubs for Pollinators

  Have you ever watched a bumblebee explore a Hibiscus flower?  Each flower is large enough for the bee to crawl around the depths of its funnel shaped petals to collect as much pollen as possible.  Short, powdery stamens grow like bristles on a bottle brush from a long, tubular pistil. The bee emerges white with pollen and satisfied by the flower’s nectar. Hibiscus shrubs, commonly known as Rose of Sharon, bloom from June through November in our area.  Each...

Container Gardens / Crafting With Plants / Evergreen Shrubs / Fragrant Plants / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Herbs / Holiday Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Tender Perennials

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Tips for Growing Holiday Plants

  Did Santa bring you a potted plant for Christmas?  Or maybe a neighbor dropped by with a beautiful potted something to spread a bit of good cheer your way?  Or do you always linger at the rack of holiday plants and wonder which ones you might be able to keep alive for a few weeks this winter? December and January are a great time to shop for plants.  And this week, especially, after Christmas, you’ll find some good values...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Carbon Garden / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Ornamental Shrubs / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Building a ‘Carbon Garden’

  You may be ahead of me on this one, but the picture that came to mind when I first saw the term ‘Carbon Garden’ in the January 2021 issue of Horticulture Magazine wasn’t very pretty.   In practice, a carbon garden is not only beautiful, but this garden style proves easier to maintain than many others. A Quick Summary of the Science Like other elements, carbon is an atom that can manifest as a solid, in a liquid, or...

Beneficial Insects / Evergreen Shrubs / Flowering Shrubs / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Holiday Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Permaculture / Wildlife Gardening

 by Camille Fisher, MG Class of 2020

Winter Blooming Camellias!

November and December in Williamsburg bring beautiful fall colors to my backyard which include my blooming camellias. There are two popular types that are late fall/winter bloomers, sasanqua and japonica camellias.  Although caring for them is easy, there are a few things I recommend you do to encourage healthy plants. Your efforts will be rewarded with beautiful flowers and luscious greenery. Mulch Add three to four inches of natural mulch to protect your plant from the cold winter winds. Mulch...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Bulb Gardening / Container Gardens / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Herbs / Native Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Winter Flowers for Pollinators

  Did you notice bees and other insects feeding later than usual last year?  And did you notice how many were out feeding on warm days last winter?  Our roller coaster weather affects insects, birds and other animals.  They may be out and about on warmish days in months when we don’t expect to see them.  And, of course they are hungry! Increased activity translates into an increased need for calories.  Providing winter forage for pollinators and birds presents gardeners...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Carbon Garden / Deer / Ferns / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Larval Host Plants / Lepidoptera / Native Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

 by Elizabeth McCoy

Working With Nature to Put the Garden to Bed

  “Leave it be.”  Words I heard with some frequency growing up…. This simple bit of advice may be just the wisdom we need whether baking, navigating relationships, or preparing the garden for winter.  “Leave it be” insists that we quiet our urge to interfere with natural processes.  It asks us to step back and observe; to allow for a solution to unfold on its own. Some gardeners feel compelled to tidy up the leaves and sticks as they fall,...