Blog

Gardeners and their Gardens

Often maligned and saddled with a nefarious reputation, goldenrod, commonly called showy goldenrod, is an underused native perennial. Contrary to common belief, the pollen from goldenrod does not cause allergies. (That’s ragweed!) Easily grown in dry, clay soil, this full sun perennial has club-shaped clusters of bright yellow blooms beginning in July and continuing throughout …

A beauty in the early to midsummer, Rudbeckia maxima is the perfect native perennial for a full sun spot in your yard. The 3 inch showy, bright yellow blooms with their tall brown cone-like centers emerge in June and July, attracting butterflies to the garden. Because the stems are sturdy and have few leaves, this …

A favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies, this clump-forming native perennial sports 8 inch spikes of striking red blooms beginning in July and continuing until frost. In the wild, Cardinal flowers are typically found in wetlands, along the edges of streams and in ravines and ditches. Cardinal flowers require a consistent moisture to thrive which makes …

    PLANT A PATCH    Because of their commitment to an environmentally friendly and sustainable landscape, the staff at Embassy Landscape Group is proud to introduce The Plant A Patch series. These blogs are designed to introduce you to a variety of lessor known native plants that are of particular value to the landscape.  We …

  This time of year — the few weeks before I can really start planting my flower gardens — I spend hours staring at bare ground in the yard. Most years, I gradually start to envision the finished product and I have a sense of what I want to achieve. This year I am seeing …

I can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my outlook on life is directly tied to the amount of time I spend outdoors working or playing or just relaxing in my yard. I used to think it was time in the sunshine that made me feel better — Vitamin D, you know — …

We have overcast, grey skies and snow again. The few, bright yellow daffodils that were blooming are completely bent over with their heads in the snow and the purple pansies I just planted are totally buried. I’m tired of the bleakness; I need color! If you stop and think about it, the role that color …

My earliest introduction to daylilies was in my grandmother’s garden when I was a small child. I remember being entranced by the bright yellow blooms one day and devastated the next when half of them were lying on the ground, dead. Somehow, in my mind, it was my fault that they were dead; I should …