When you combine sharp orange/red tubular shaped flowers and silver needled stems with soft pink globe shaped flowers perched on wiry stems 1-2 inches high with variegated leaves, the result is an eyepopping combination! These specimens offer a huge contrast in both the flower and leaf shapes and colors that will minimally be noted by[...]
Feather cockscomb (Celosia argentia plumosa) is an old garden favorite. I’ve used the annual (perennial in USDA Zones 10 to 12) in seasonal displays the past couple of years with great success. Plants provide high-impact color all summer long while requiring little to no maintenance. It’s no wonder cockscombs are a favorite of gardeners and[...]
In Fran Sorin’s March 4, 2009 post ‘Favorite Seed and Plant Mail Order Sources: From our GGW Contributors’ Steve Silk and I both mentioned Cottage Garden in southwestern Illinois as a ‘favorite’ mail order resource for their vast range of unique plants. Fortunately, I live about 45 minutes from Cottage Garden. My visits there are always[...]
In Part One, I covered some highlights of the first day of the Native Plants in the Landscape Conference, which was held at Millersville University in Millersville, PA from June 4 through June 6. Here are some more of my notes and ramblings from the other two days (again, lots of text and not many[...]
As I have addressed in previous posts, much of the attention my corporate design work (e.g. Gardens at the Bank of Springfield) receives can be attributed to my use of tropicals in the mixed border. It is unexpected to see lush tropical foliage flourishing in central Illinois. This season I have installed a truly subtropical[...]