Nature Hills Gardening Neighborhood

I use a word processor to keep a log of what I have planted and where. The computer allows me to add, change, and delete throughout each season; having a printout is very helpful as well. For each plant listed, I add information about its location and care. For instance, I will make note when to prune, if it needs dividing, and when it will bloom, such...

The ‘Abiqua Drinking Gourd’ Hosta requires high-filtered or dappled sunlight that is necessary for its clean, healthy growth. Morning sun is tolerable and will help to intensify the leaf colors, but hot afternoon sun is usually deadly to this Hosta . This perennial is most at home in shady, woodland settings and often works well as specimen or edging...

The Zumi Crabapple Tree first displays its lovely pink flower buds , and then before long, a profuse, spring bloom of fragrant, white flowers appear. This deciduous tree is the standard for which other white flowering trees are compared! Not only does this tree have showy flowers, but it also produces glossy, small, bright red crabapples that mature...

Growing to a height of 12 inches, ‘ Tony Monster’ Geranium is like all geraniums, very reliable! It has blooms that are large with a bright magenta color. Along with these prolific blooms, it also is a vigorous grower. This geranium is a hardy perennial and should not be confused with annual geraniums. Plants should be set in the soil no deeper than...

What welcoming plants can you select to make your front entrance more inviting? Try a plant with a weeping habit! These plants will create a spectacular welcome for friends or family as they arrive at your front door. The ‘Sweetspire’ is a naturally weeping plant that produces finger-like panicles of white flowers in the spring and turns a brilliant...

‘Ambrosia’ Pomegranate gets three times the size of other pomegranates, yet this cerise globe shaped fruit has the flavor of the juice and seeds that’s just as intense as any of the other pomegranates. Of course, each pomegranate has its own complex and unique flavor! Similar to the ‘Wonderful’ Pomegranate , the ‘Ambrosia’ has the largest fruit of any...

Astilbe 'Maggie Daley' is great for adding a spiky accent in the moist part of the garden . It displays a profusion of showy spikes of lavender-purple panicles in mid to late summer. It is a robust and somewhat drought resistant plant. The fuzzy flowers are full and packed closely together, resembling a bouquet that sits on top of the shiny...

Creeping Thyme is a low growing mat that is covered with hundreds of rosy-red flowers in summer. Since it is a strong grower, it is ideal as a drought tolerant lawn substitute, or as a groundcover for planting between flagstones, tolerating moderate traffic. Thyme spreads by growing from one set of leaves to the next. In between the leaves is a stem...