Category: Perennial Care

Deer Resistant Plants / Ferns / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Native Plants / Perennial Care / Plant Literacy / Sustainable Gardening / Taxonomy / Tender Perennials / Tropical Houseplants / Wildlife Gardening / Williamsburg Botanical Garden

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Finding Success with Maidenhair Ferns

  Maidenhair ferns look so delicate and fragile I avoided planting them for the first thirty-odd years of my gardening adventures.  I had no confidence in keeping them alive through a Virginia summer because I expected them to be fussy, requiring far more skillful care than I could offer. Native Northern Maidenhair Ferns When I first toured the Williamsburg Botanical Garden as a newly minted Master Gardener intern in April of 2018, our guide, Dr. Donna Ware, pointed out a...

Container Gardens / Deer Resistant Plants / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Perennial Care / Summer / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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Peonies for Mothers’ Day

  Flowers for Mothers’ Day We traditionally honor our mothers, grandmothers, and the other important women in our lives with a gift of beautiful flowers at Mothers’ Day each May.  Some may favor an orchid or rose corsage, while others present a bouquet of freshly cut flowers.  And while flowers always make a lovely gift, the life of cut flowers is all too brief.   A Gift That Gives Joy Again and Again One year, when my daughter was still...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Edible Plants / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Larval Host Plants / Native Plants / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Propagation / Wildlife Gardening

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Featured Plants for 2025

  Let’s celebrate some of our more unusual and lesser-known native wildflowers in 2025.  The Virginia Native Plant Society has chosen the Mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, as its 2025 Wildflower of the Year.  The Perennial Plant Association has also chosen a native wildflower, indigenous to Virginia, as its pick for 2025.   Perennial Plant of the Year for 2025 The 2025 Perennial Plant of the Year is clustered mountain mint, Pycnanthemum muticum, a native wildflower in the mint, or Lamiaceae family.  It...

Deer / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Perennial Care / Resource Protection / Soil Conservation / Summer / Water Wise / Weather / Wildlife Gardening

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Summer in the Garden: To Do, To Do Less, and To Avoid

  Summer at last!  Tomatoes are ripening, flowers blooming, and we are enjoying prime time in the garden.  July and August can be our most productive season in the garden.  But these months challenge our ingenuity and dedication when the weather turns hot and dry.  All our garden dreams can wither under the summer sun or topple over in a summer storm if we neglect the basic maintenance routines that help our gardens thrive.  Here are a few tips to...

Carbon Garden / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Perennial Care

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Peonies for Mothers’ Day

Peonies Symbolize Femininity, Wealth and Honor The peonies always bloom for Mothers’ Day in Eastern Virginia, alongside the roses.  Roses and peonies are just part of the romance and beauty of mid-May in our area.  Their full, heavy blossoms packed with petals invite the gardener to snip a stem or two for the vase inside, especially when there is rain in the forecast.  Peonies invite us to pause and gather May’s flowers in the moment, savoring one of the most...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Bulb Gardening / Carbon Garden / climate change / Compost / Conservation / Deer / Evergreen Perennials / Evergreen Shrubs / Evergreen trees / Ferns / Flowering Shrubs / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Larval Host Plants / Ornamental Shrubs / Perennial Care / Phenology / Trees in Winter / Watering / Wildlife Gardening / Winter

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Winter in the Garden: To Do, To Do Less, and What to Avoid

  We can consider winter as the ‘weekend’ of the gardening year, both the last month and the first months of the year when we can enjoy a much-needed rest from the regular routine.  A period of rest and renewal restores energy to both the garden and the gardener.  It allows us time for reflection on the successes and challenges of seasons past and an opportunity to plan and prepare for the seasons to come. If winter is the weekend,...

Bulb Gardening / climate change / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Geophytes / Native Plants / Native Trees / Perennial Care / Soil Conservation / Sustainable Gardening / Water Wise / Watering / Weather / Wildlife Gardening

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Making a Resilient Drought-Tolerant Garden Part II: Techniques and Strategies

  Enthusiastic gardeners begin planning, planting, and preparing for the season to come at the first hint of spring.   Some of us may still be planting daffodils in December or January and watch for the first snowdrops to appear as the last bulbs go into the ground.  There is very little break during winter.   We are always watching the progress of our gardens and exploring sustainable gardening practices.  And our hearts remain filled with hope for the seasons to come....

climate change / Compost / Garden Design / Garden Maintenance / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Geophytes / Herbs / Native Plants / Native Trees / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening / Water Wise / Watering / Weather

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Making a Resilient Drought-Tolerant Garden Part I: Right Plant, Right Place

  Maybe it will rain, and maybe it won’t.  It has been unusually dry in our area for the past several months.  Some of the little starts I planted with high hopes in March and April have been struggling to take hold.  I need to water large areas of our garden several times a week, as though it were July already.   And regular irrigation just isn’t an option for many gardeners. We are relatively fortunate in coastal Virginia because we...

Beneficial Insects / Container Gardens / Fragrant Plants / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Herbs / Invasive Plants / Perennial Care / Permaculture / Sustainable Gardening / Tender Perennials / Vegetable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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Landscaping With Herbs Part II:  Deciduous Perennial Herbs

What is an Herb? Why is mint an herb, but clover isn’t?  Have you ever given it much thought?  Botanically, any plant with a soft stem, that dies back in winter, is ‘herbaceous.’  Were you give a stack of a dozen cards, each with the name and picture of a plant, could you sort them into ‘herbs’ and ‘not herbs’? If asked, most of us could probably name at least five herbs.  Those used in cooking, like basil and thyme...

Beneficial Insects / Birds / Container Gardens / Garden Design / Gardening on the Wild Side: Working in Harmony with Nature / Heirloom plants / Keystone Species / Larval Host Plants / Native Plants / Perennial Care / Sustainable Gardening / Wildlife Gardening

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Container Gardening with Native Keystone Plants

Container gardening is a great way to garden if you have limited space.  Have you ever considered growing native plants in your containers? And what might be even better than this, you ask?   Why container gardening with native keystone perennials, of course! Why Keystone Plants? Keystone plants are the “powerhouses” of native plants.  While all native plants are beneficial, keystone plants are the linchpins for entire ecosystems, providing crucial resources for the greatest number of insect species.  These keystone plants...