Blog

Our latest “little bluestem” marks our tenth offering in this increasingly-popular group. And every one of them is the 2022 Perennial Plant of the Year: For just the second time in that award’s 32-year history, the Perennial Plant Association has bestowed it upon an entire species including all its cultivars.‘Twilight Zone’ PP27432 lights up the border with a unique, almost glowing, silvery/mauve cast to its mature foliage. As the season progresses, the silver persists even as the mauve tones se

Amsonia x Butterscotch™ brings a fresher, richer, healthier glow to a famous native perennial genus. Like Amsonia hubrichtii, Butterscotch™ is in constant graceful motion in the slightest breeze. It, too, has starry blue flowers in spring. And like its more famous sibling, its billowy masses of fine, rich green foliage segue to a beautiful golden autumn color. So how is it different? Let us recount the ways:■ Leaf Color: Butterscotch’s slim leaves take on a deeper, richer golden hue in fal

Remember that old comedy team, the Smothers Brothers? At some point during their TV show Tom would glare at Dick and blurt, “Mom always liked you best!”In “side-oats grama,” we have a long-suffering, attention-deserving American native grass unfairly eclipsed by its better-known sibling, the lovely, scheming B. gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’. B. curtipendula is a charming, versatile, self-sufficient warm-season grass. Dense clumps of slender bluish-gray blades stand two feet tall. Small but attrac

About the Rock Star Award Our Rock Star award honors ECG employees who demonstrate a sustained high level of performance and inspire others. This month, that description fits Jonathon Simmons, who joined us in the autumn of 2020. He has become a valued member of our Grass Production Crew at Milton. Here’s what his peers and managers had to say in selecting him for the honor.“I would like to nominate Jonathon Simmons. He has become a key player in grass production. Jonathon is also extremel

Here’s a perennial you may not have considered. Colorful, easy to grow, drought-tolerant once established – and with eye-catching fall colors, to boot! ‘Ascot Rainbow’ lives up to the colorful part of its name with striking, yet subtle, gray-green leaves edged in gold. Come cool nights, the foliage becomes suffused with ever-deepening reds. It’s an autumn display worth waiting for. Culture NotesThey don’t come much simpler. Give it full sun or very light shade, and keep it irrigated until it’s