Tag: hostas

Expert Advice: 9 Tips for a Moody Winter Garden – Gardenista

[ad_1]

In fall the Instagram feeds of many of our favorite gardeners, quite understandably, start to wither or move indoors. Not so that of Dutch garden designer Frank Heijligers. Indeed, much like the dames of imperial Russia, who, rather that retreating from the cold, donned furs and tiaras in anticipation of the social high season, Frank’s winter garden seemed to reach the height of its sparkling charm.

Enchanted, we decided to ask Frank, who grows grasses, perennials, trees, and shrubs at his nursery, Plantwerk, to divulge his secrets for a successful winter garden. Here are his nine tips for adding sparkle and moody color:

Photography by Frank Heijligers.

Embrace black.

Above: Now a dramatic black, the once purple cones of Agastache ‘Black Adder’ still stand tall in the frosty winter garden.

“Successful winter gardens need a lot of plants with good structure in them,” says Frank. “The plants have to be strong and have more than one interest: nice foliage, bloom, color, seed head, change of color in fall, strong skeleton in winter.”

Showcase long-lasting seedheads.

Above: Like spectators at the ballet, crowds of Monarda ‘Croftway Pink’ seedheads watch a changing fall landscape.

Fill the gaps.

Above: Because plants with good structure tend to bloom later, Frank notes that the successful four-season garden “starts with having a little more patience in spring.” To fill in the gap, he uses bulbs. Alliums, which maintain a sculptural seed head after they have gone by, are a good choice.

Above: One of Frank’s gardens in summer. Though lust and leafy, it still maintains a textured feel.

Consider frost-proof plants.

Above: A similar border garden in winter, when the regal heads of Phlomis take on a silver sheen.

“Hosta or Alchemilla mollis are plants that look good early on in the year, but with the first bit of frost, they collapse,” Frank says. “You need plants like Phlomis, Aster, Eupatorium, Veronicastrum, and Anemone combined with grasses like Deschampsia, Miscanthus, Sporobolus, and Festuca mairei to make the garden look good until March.”

Above: Another sculptural favorite: Veronicastrum ‘Pink Spike.’

Bonus: Birds love all the leftover seedheads in Frank’s hibernal garden.

[ad_2]

Source link

January 15, 2026
Perennials for a Shade Garden: Our Favorite Native Species and Hardy Flowering Plants

[ad_1]

All week, we’re revisiting the most popular stories of 2025, including this one from July.

A shade garden is a green and contemplative refuge. It can also be a botanical calendar, with flowers signaling the change of seasons. Well-chosen perennials for shade provide texture and pattern, flowers, and sometimes even fruit. They offer an indispensable layer of interest alongside the architecture of shrubs and trees, and the seasonal excitement of shade-loving annuals. Perennials are plants that return every year after a dormant period and they usually bloom for a few weeks. Choosing perennials whose bloom-time is staggered over the growing season gives us that gift that gardeners, in particular, enjoy: anticipation. Our favorite perennials for shade work harder, though, and are about more than flowers—their foliage or form is interesting even when the plant is not flowering. Here are 13 of our favorites.

Foamflower, Tiarella cordifolia

Above: Foamflower thrives in pots or in-ground.

Above: Foamflower creates frothy carpets of flowers in early spring.

Foamflower blooms in early spring, creating frothy pockets of brightness in the garden. This species of Tiarella propagates itself, establishing new plants from skinny surface-runners, making it a perfect naturalizer for shady path edges and woodland floors. When not in bloom, its maple-shaped leaves create a softly textured quilt. This Eastern native is hardy from USDA zones 4 (and possibly 3) to 9.

Doll’s eyes, Actaea pachypoda

Above: The graceful flowers of doll’s eyes are deliciously-scented

Perhaps one of the best-scented perennials for shade, doll’s eyes are also known as white baneberry, thanks to the plants’ Halloween-ready, toxic white fruit on blood-red stalks in late fall. But in spring, they are all sweetness, with lemon-scented white flowers. This woodland native relishes full shade and blooms in mid-spring above prettily toothed leaves. Doll’s eyes are hardy from zones 3 to 8.

Wake robin, Trillium species

Above: Woodland elegance—Trilliums in mid-spring.

The understated elegance of native Trilliums belongs to a woodland spring. Planted under deciduous trees in soil rich in leaf humus or compost, they bask in spring sunshine and shelter in early summer shade. They are especially effective planted in groups with companion plants that fill out when the Trilliums are dormant, from summer onwards. Different species have blooms that may be white, yellow, or red, with erect or nodding flowers, and most are hardy within zones 4 to 7.

Meadow rue, Thalictrum species

Above: The white flowers of native tall meadow rue in a pot on my Brooklyn terrace.

Above: Meadow rue (native to Asia) has purple flowers.

[ad_2]

Source link

January 1, 2026
A Westchester Garden Designed by Landscape Designer Ashley Lloyd

[ad_1]

Oftentimes landscape designers are called in to execute a one-time overhaul or to create an instant landscape for a site that’s been ravaged by construction. Every once in a while, though, they’re enlisted for more nuanced work, such as when a mature garden needs a new steward and editor. The “before and after” results may not be as dramatic, but the process of refinement can take a garden from good to great. Such was the case when landscape designer and ISA-certified arborist Ashley Lloyd, of Lloyd Landwright, was brought in to usher a garden in lower Westchester into its next chapter.

The garden had been lovingly designed and tended by a fine gardener for many years, but after his departure, weeds had overtaken the property and much of the perennial layer had been lost during construction projects, including a new retaining wall. “The goal was to create layered texture, seasonal contrast, and movement—and to design with the garden’s future evolution in mind,” Lloyd says.

Arriving as the homeowners were in the midst of rethinking the garden, ended up being a gift. “I had time to observe the land—its microclimates, light shifts, drainage patterns—and respond accordingly,” Lloyd says. Building on the existing palette of shrubs and evergreens, she brought in more native and pollinator plants and created moments that would consistently surprise and delight the clients. She also designed dozens of seasonal planters and new outdoor lighting.

Through her years of working on this garden, Lloyd learned that “the best design happens in relationship and collaboration with the land and not from a fixed plan,” she says. Lloyd recently relocated to the West Coast, handing this garden off to its next steward in much better shape than she found it.

Take a tour of the resulting garden, a layered landscape that evolves through the seasons.

Photography by Kyle J Caldwell.

Above: “This wasn’t a ‘look but don’t touch’ garden,” says Lloyd. Rather, it was designed to invite interaction, with the client choosing to leave the front garden unfenced, so neighbors could enjoy it too. However, no fencing meant intense deer pressure, so Lloyd focussed her plant palette on those that were unpalatable to deer, including floss flower and allium. “Grasses, including sesleria, really knit everything together there,” she says.

Above: Lloyd says she tries to place plants that deer don’t like around plants they prefer; for example, lamb’s ear and allium are positioned to protect asters. As part of a local Pollinator Pathway, the garden is pesticide-free and designed to support bees, birds, and butterflies.

[ad_2]

Source link

August 19, 2025
Beautiful trap: Scammers selling ‘seeds’ for AI-generated plants that don’t exist – WTOP News

[ad_1]

The lure is strong for home gardeners, searching online for ideas to spruce up their surroundings — plants with vibrant colors, multi-hued petals, and intriguing markings. Spoiler alert — many of the photos are AI generated. The plants don’t exist. Neither do their ‘seeds’ which are marketed online.

This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker.
In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker.

Scammers are selling ‘seeds’ for AI-generated plants that don’t exist

The lure is strong for home gardeners, searching online for ideas to spruce up their surroundings — plants with vibrant colors, multi-hued petals and intriguing markings.

Spoiler alert.

“There’s lots of these beautiful pictures being shown on the internet, and unfortunately, they’re AI-generated, and the plants are fake. They don’t exist,” said Jason Cowne, manager at Meadows Farms Nurseries and Landscaping’s Frederick location.

And while the seemingly spectacular plants don’t exist, “many unscrupulous sellers on the internet are selling ‘seeds’ for these plants,” he said in a Tuesday Facebook post.

In a WTOP interview, Cowne explained the scam.

“People creating these images are taking pictures of real plants, such as hostas and calatheas, and they’re altering the colors of the plants, to make them very vibrant,” said Cowne. “They’re adding pictures of flowers from other flowering plants and combining the images to create pictures of beautiful plants that don’t exist.”

With a quick internet search for pink, “they’re all offering seed packs, for say, 100 seeds for $12,” said Cowne. “But if you look closely at the ads, what they’re selling is not seeds for the plant in the picture, they’re just selling you a random pack of seeds.

Other giveaways that plants pictured online don’t really exist?

“Any legitimate plant seller is going to list the genus, the species, and the cultivar of the plant,” said Cowne. “And it’s going to give the scientific name of the plant they’re trying to sell.”

Not seeing those specifics in an internet search of an advertised plant or seed should raise red flags.

Not surprisingly, Cowne said a visit to a local nursery or garden shop eliminates the risk of getting scammed.

“We have the plants in stock,” said Cowne. “You can see the plants for yourself, you can see that they’re healthy, and that they do actually exist.”

Cowne said thousands of spectacular new varieties of plants come onto the market, year after year.

“They’re developed by growers, trialed by universities and other organizations throughout the United States, to make sure they’re healthy, and viable, and that they perform as the breeders want them to.”

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

[ad_2]

Neal Augenstein

Source link

May 30, 2024