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We work in the green industries. We celebrate our world’s greenery. The word “green” isn’t just an adjective, it’s an eco-friendly accolade.But sometimes, oddly enough, green is a surprise.When someone mentions the genus Festuca, “blue fescue” is the term that comes to mind. It’s an unwritten law that every new Festuca must be bluer than the last one.Eilers Beauty™ is an outlaw: Its slender, hair-like blades are a rich, subtle matte green.Lose the blues? Never. But try going green just for

Modern Takes on a Garden ClassicNo perennial garden can call itself complete without a complement of Dianthus. And neither can your perennial offering. These charmers are especially indispensable to the quintessential English cottage garden look. But they’re equally at home wherever they get what they need: Full sun, well-drained fertile soil, and adequate moisture. Dianthus is a cosmopolitan genus with over 300 species. A breeders’ favorite for centuries, its hybrids now number litera

That which we call a weasel snout, by any other name...Lamiastrum ‘Herman’s Pride’ is a lovely ground cover that excels even in one of the toughest landscape niches: The dreaded dry shade. Colorful and sturdy, it spreads slowly, clump by clump, to colonize tricky slopes and other barren places. Hardy in Zones 4 – 8, it stands about a foot tall when in bloom.This interesting, useful plant has two common names. Both are interesting, but only one is useful. “Yellow archangel” resonates at reta

EverColor®: The pot at the end of the rainbow!Kilkenny, Ireland is a destination city, famed for arts, crafts, music festivals, ancient castles -- and modern Carex! The breeders at Fitzgerald Nursery have struck Celtic gold with this great group of sedges.These well-behaved sedges form sturdy, compact, uniform mounds of glossy blades in a nifty range of easy-to-use sizes and colors. One variety, ‘Everillo’, has solid-color blades; the others are striped.Flowers are subtle and inconspicuous. On t

In 1806, President Thomas Jefferson bought some real estate from France. The Louisiana Purchase involved a staggering 828,000 square miles – over half a billion acres, give or take.But nobody really knew what he had bought. Zillow was no help. So Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to do a two-year walk-through.Among the many marvels they found was a succulent-leaved perennial called “bitter root” by natives. A river and a mountain range bear that name still. The newcomer was named