Blog

We’re euphoric about this Euphorbia, and that’s no euphemism. ‘Ascot Rainbow’ is a riot of ever-changing color. Blue-green leaves with creamy yellow edges are its summer wardrobe. Cool weather inspires a costume change, with intense red tones.Euphorbia xmartinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ PP21401Like many spurges, ‘Ascot Rainbow’ performs best with well-drained soils and resents wet feet in winter. Keep it happy, and you’ll soon know why this Australian introduction earned the Royal Horticultural Society’s

Geography Lessons in the GardenA good mixed perennial garden can be a trip around the world – or at least across a continent or two. Today’s tour involves a plant whose name sounds deceptively like a land it did NOT come from. Nepeta kubanica Neptune (‘Bokratune’ PP29556)Is that a funky way to spell Cuba, land of cigars and Castro? Nyet! The specific epithet refers to “big-leaf catmint’s” ancestral home on the Kuban Peninsula in Southern Russia, on the Black Sea. This particular beauty was bred

So you think Latin names are difficult, you silly English-speaking person? Hah!Let’s examine first a popular perennial, then the less-familiar story behind its name. GaillardiaA backbone of the sunny garden, “blanket flower” is known and loved world-wide for its array of bright, cheerful, often bicolor blooms.Complex daisy-like flowers feature a plethora of petals with toothy, pointed or fluted tips. Puffy gold/red centers remain attractive and interesting even after petals fade. As you mig

We grow so much Pennisetum xadvena 'Rubrum' – bench after bench, whole greenhouses full of it – that we sometimes wonder where it all goes. And then we take a drive, anywhere in North America, and there it is!‘Rubrum’ is so well-known it barely needs an introduction. It’s that red-leaved annual grass you see everywhere you go: In big containers on Main Street, waving its burgundy blades and matching foxtail flowers in landscapes public and private, surrounding flagpoles, flanking entra

When the color experts at Pantone announced their Color of the Year for 2021, they gave us a rare double-header. Illuminating is a cheerful yellow. Ultimate Gray is exactly what it sounds like. They complement one another beautifully: Yellow for sunny optimism, gray for rock-solid reliability. We looked at yellow last time, so let’s go gray again!Obviously, gray – even Ultimate Gray -- is not sexy. Let’s call it silver. Either way, there’s a place for it in nearly every border. Colors