Photo: Abraham (CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Abraham (CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Alexander Roumega (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Why Privet Remains a Hedging Favourite Privet (Ligustrum species) has been a go-to hedging plant for well over a century, and for good reason: it grows quickly, tolerates hard clipping, and forms a…
Photo: Avenue (CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Avenue (CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Luvs2Garden (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) A Climber for Every Season Clematis has earned its nickname “queen of climbers” thanks to the sheer range of flower shapes, sizes, and colours available across its hundreds of species and cultivars, from the…
Photo: Uoaei1 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Uoaei1 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Uoaei1 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Ivy (Hedera helix) is the toughest of all climbing plants. It grows where other plants give up: on shady north-facing walls, beneath dense tree canopies, and in poor soil. With its dark green, leathery…
Photo: Famartin (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Famartin (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Japanese fine prints, pre-1915 (Public domain, Wikimedia Commons) A Spectacular but Demanding Climber Few climbing plants create as dramatic a spring display as wisteria, with its long, pendulous clusters of fragrant purple, blue, pink, or white flowers cascading from a…
Photo: Acabashi (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Acabashi (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Acabashi (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Climbing roses turn any vertical surface into a romantic floral paradise. Whether on house walls, rose arches, pergolas, or fences, their lush blooms in white, pink, red, and yellow bring height and drama to…
Photo: Joyce Cory on Flickr as docentjoyce (CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Mokkie (CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Mokkie (CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons) Honeysuckle (Lonicera) is one of the most sensuous climbing plants in the garden. Especially in the evening hours, it releases an intoxicatingly sweet fragrance that attracts moths and other…
Photo: Naturpuur (CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Netha Hussain (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Dr. Jan Hinrichs-Berger, LTZ Augustenberg Referat 33 Karlsruhe (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Thyme (Thymus) is far more than just a kitchen herb โ as a ground cover, it’s one of the most versatile and attractive of its kind….
Photo: Frantisek horak (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Matt6798 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: Agnieszka Kwiecieล, Nova (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata), also known as moss phlox, is one of the most rewarding and colorful ground covers for sunny locations. From April to June, it transforms rock gardens, wall…
When it comes to filling difficult shaded ground with reliable, low-maintenance color, few plants beat periwinkle (Vinca minor). This evergreen trailing groundcover forms a dense, glossy carpet studded with violet-blue, star-shaped flowers from early spring into summer, and it thrives in exactly the spots where grass and many other plants struggle โ deep shade under…
Photo: GT1976 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: GT1976 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) Photo: GT1976 (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons) An Unfussy Shrub for Year-Round Interest Cotoneaster is a large and varied genus of shrubs ranging from prostrate, ground-hugging forms like Cotoneaster horizontalis to upright hedging types and small trees, making it one of…
