Baby Gem Boxwood is a Valuable Addition to the Landscape

Boxwood is a versatile evergreen shrub with a broad range of forms and sizes that has long been a treasured hedging plant in the garden. Fossilized boxwood leaves and fruit have been discovered dating back approximately 22.5 million years. In Roman times, atria in affluent villas were landscaped with formal boxwood plantings used to frame garden spaces, paths, or doorways. Sculpted or 3-dimensional topiary was/is another use for boxwood, since the dense branching and small leaves supported close shearing. The shapes act as anchors, finials, and ornamentation in the garden. In the Middle Ages, parterres, rose gardens and knot gardens also employed boxwood.

"Man's Oldest Garden Ornament," was introduced to North America from Europe in the mid-1600s and reached peak popularity in the United States during the early 19th century and again during the Colonial Revival era. There are many classic plantings such as the one at Mount Vernon. When I lectured at Colonial Williamsburg I learned it boasts seven miles of boxwood hedges.

The Latin name Buxus sempervirens was given to boxwood by Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus in 1753. Buxus means “box” and sempervirens means “evergreen.” The wood of boxwood is highly regarded. It is firm, smooth grained, strong, uniform, has great elasticity and its shrinkage is minimal when dried. It has been used to make beautiful jewel boxes, combs, wood inlays, carved ornaments, utensils, tablets, and flutes.

Today, Baby Gem Boxwood, a new cultivar presented by Garden Debut®, is a valuable addition to the landscape. The vigorous littleleaf boxwood is an exceptionally compact plant with a dense, multi-branched habit, easy to grow and robust in the landscape overall. This broadleaf evergreen vigorously grows a little taller than it is wide, resulting in a rounded form.

Fine-textured, the tiny, lustrous leaves are abundant and add a distinctive color note, retaining their rich, emerald-green color particularly well in winter. Baby Gem Boxwood’s extremely small, lustrous leaves provide a matte effect even when formally sheared or sculpted, since the tiny leaves don’t show shearing cuts.

The brisk growth rate makes Baby Gem Boxwood ideal for carefree hedging in a wide area of the U.S. It is an emerald gem of a foundation plant, excellent for edging, and may be clipped for parterres, topiary and formal gardens. The vibrant green hue provides an exceptional backdrop for brilliant annual and perennial flowers and statuary.

Other splendid characteristics of this garden gem include deer resistance and tolerance of dry soils once established. Baby Gem Boxwood flourishes in conditions of sun to shade, and benefits from an organic mulch to keep roots cool. Look for Baby Gem Boxwood in garden centers this spring.

For more information about proper cultivation and landscape applications of boxwood, or to find fellow boxwood lovers, visit the American Boxwood Society website.

Dogwood Blossom Wedding Cake

Here's an addendum to my previous Dogwood post that goes out to all my bride-friends and their Moms.

When assembling a program entitled "20 Favorite Native Plants for Georgia Gardens", of course I included the native flowering Dogwood, Cornus florida among my picks. I came across this wonderful wedding cake image on Google Images, courtesy of Southern Living Magazine.

This also ties into a Huffington Post article I saw today on Tips for a Green Wedding.   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-elyse-matison/7-easy-ways-to-green-your_b_536063.html.

Happy trails . . .

Gift of a Free Rutgers Dogwood

The 74th annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival is this weekend, and trees all over Atlanta are blooming. Coincidentally, last Saturday night an email from an old friend informed me that she had just dug up a "Rutgers dogwood" and wondered if I would like to plant it in my garden, or if she should put it on Craig's List? Being a Rutgers Alum and a practical sort that loves free plants I said, "Sure I would like it!" even though I had my doubts about planting it this late in the spring. Ideally, woody ornamentals and trees are planted in October or November in Atlanta, while the soil still retains some warmth from the summer and the leaves are off the tree relieving water stress.

Since there’s already a large young Florida dogwood on one side of our house, I actually had been meaning to plant a similar one on the other side, so this offer seemed serendipitous. Considered by many as the best all-round flowering trees, Dogwoods are best-loved for their outstanding display of spring flowers, and there are three main types of dogwoods grown in the eastern U.S.

The most spectacular flower display is delivered by the native Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) on bare branches, a brilliant show of bright white or pink flowers in early spring before the leaves emerge. This species is also valued for its horizontal branching habit, interesting red “football-shaped” fruit, and burgundy/red fall color. Unfortunately, the native Dogwood is susceptible to Anthracnose, a fungus disease that killed a large number of trees in the 1980s and 90s.

The Kousa or Japanese Dogwood (Cornus kousa) from Asia flowers nearly a month later after the leaves are out, but its flowers have pointed bracts, not like the familiar native dogwoods. Kousa Dogwoods are valued for their fall color, raspberry-like fruit and interesting bark, and best of all, they are resistant to Anthracnose.

Rutgers Hybrid Dogwoods are the third type, lying between the first two. A long-term project by Rutgers University Prof Dr. Elwin Orton involved inter-specific crosses between the two species to produce hybrids resistant to Anthracnose. The resulting varieties of Dogwood combine many of the good traits of both types of tree.

So Sunday morning we met in the parking lot before church and transferred the tree from her car to ours. The Dogwood turned out to be quite a bit larger than I had realized, nearly 12 feet tall! All but the smallest amount of soil had fallen from its severely-cut root system, making it a bare-root plant. Leaf buds were just beginning to break although there weren’t any flower buds.

I loosened the soil in a 4- or 5-foot circle and centered a planting hole just deep enough to keep the tree at the same level it had been growing. I made sure it was standing straight, then replaced the rich topsoil all around it and watered it in thoroughly. (Photo at left shows the young trunk amidst native azaleas, creeping phlox and assorted perennials.) I’ll be keeping my eye on it, abnd watering to make sure it does not dry out until the roots get established in the soil. I’m not sure which of the introductions my gift Dogwood is, perhaps Celestial, Constellation or maybe even Stellar Pink. Guess I’ll worry about that once I know if it’s going to live.

Top 10 Ingredients for Homemade Compost

Easy Finds for Homemade Compost


1. Weeds (before they go to seed)
2. Spent garden plants and flowers (disease-free only; get rid of diseased plants by putting in the outgoing garbage)
3. Shrub prunings and old Christmas trees (slow to break down, so best if chopped up)
4. Wood ash (from clean-burning fireplaces; wood only, no firestarter logs)
5. Coffee grounds and tea leaves
6. Discarded jack-o-lanterns, fruit and veggie peelings, bruised/rotted kitchen produce
7. Autumn leaves
8. Sawdust and wood chips (added in thin layers so they don’t clump)
9. Grass clippings (chemical- and herbicide-free; added in thin layers so they don’t clump)
10. Aquatic plants (when thinning garden pond)

Twist of Lime™ Variegated Abelia Dances through the Landscape

       Abelia hybrids are rounded, spreading, multi-stemmed shrubs in the honeysuckle family. They typically grow on gracefully arching branches to a mature height of 4 - 5 feet, most reliably in the warm winter climates of the South (USDA Zones 6 - 10). They are extra special because after the long-blooming flowers are past, persistent sepals add interest for months longer. 

      A new introduction by Garden Debut, Twist of Lime™ Variegated Abelia is a high-accent, low maintenance selection for the border or large containers. An outstanding choice, this pretty summer cooler is a compact, evergreen shrub with glossy variegated leaves that bring added value to the garden. the leaves are bright yellow with green centers when young, maturing later in the season to a rich ivory and green. 

      Another plus, Twist of Lime™ Abelia produces a heavy bloom of fragrant white-tinged-pink clusters of trumpet-shaped flowers (to 5/8 inch long) which appear over a long and continuous period from late spring to fall and are attractive to pollinators and hummingbirds. Dusty pink “ruffs” of sepals last even longer, after the petals are gone.

     Twist of Lime™'s botanical name is Abelia x grandiflora ‘Gretol’. It has no serious insect or disease problems and is useful as a specimen or grouped in shrub borders or foundations. It is also effective when massed as a shrubby ground cover, particularly on slopes or banks where plants also can provide erosion control. Twist of Lime™ Abelia may be used as a low, informal hedge in southern areas where winter die-back is not a concern, although plants lose their attractive graceful shape if pruned or sheared. Twist of Lime™ is also a creative choice for permanent containers on terraces and balconies. 

Look for this new Abelia in garden centers this spring in the Garden Debut pot.   

Signs of Spring

All week I have been commenting on Facebook and  happily tweeting
about the signs of Spring. Foremost are the warm sun and soft breezes (finally!), made for luxuriating and gardening.  Although the first Narcissus ('Rijnveld's Early Sensation') opened back on January 4 and are just now fading, additional trumpets have been opening all month, and the incredibly fragrant Hyacintha Blue 'Delft' are adding scent all over the garden.

Chaenomales speciosa 'Nivalis" white Quince is in full flower at the corner of the house (albeit 3 months late), while


the Helleborus x hybridus (Lenten Roses) look even better now that I have trimmed off a few winter-burned leaves, allowing the flowers to take center stage a' la Rosemary Verey.

The Iris unguicularis has 5 blooms today (admittedly late for the winter-blooming Algerian Iris), Iberis sempervirens (Candytuft) is opening its white flowers, as is the unfortunate-smelling Pyrus calleryana (Bradford Callery Pear) futher down the street. Forsythia and Star and Saucer Magnolia are all in bloom.

Viburnum dentatum and Aesculus pavia buds are swelling into leaves.


Hydrangea quercifolia leaves look less like silver candles (that was so last week) and more like young leaves coated with pearlescence. The Oakleaf hydrangea is a wonderful native addition to the garden with 4 seasons of appeal, not the least this Spring.
Tomorrow is officially the First Day of Spring! What's going on in your neck of the woods? 

New Ever Blooming Kokomo Sunset(TM) Daylily Challenges Old Stella d'Oro

Tough as Nails, Reliable Daylilies

If there ever was a sure thing in the gardening world, it has to be daylilies. They are easy to grow, drought-tolerant perennials and are a familiar sight in gardens around the country. They tolerate a wide range of soils, are not troubled by diseases or pests, and bloom faithfully every summer, typically around Father’s Day in Atlanta. They also thrive in containters, great for gardeners with limited space.

Their botanical name, Hemerocallis, means “beauty for a day”. It’s true, each flower lasts only one day. But since there are many buds on each flowering stalk, the blooming season for individual plants lasts several weeks, as they open one-by-one in turn. The American Hemerocallis Society lists thousands of named daylily varieties.

The most common way to group daylilies used to be by season of bloom: early, mid-season, or late. However, the "ever blooming" category surmounts this classification. Arguably the most well know of these daylilies was “Stella d’Oro” with small, 2-3 inch and glaring “school bus yellow” flowers. Move over, Stella. A new introduction by Garden Debut(R) launching this spring brings added value.

Kokomo Sunset(TM) Daylily is a win-win for gradeners and the landscape industry with three seasons of bloom through 9+ months. The continously reblooming, carefree daylily delivers brightly colored, 4-inch, lightly ruffled golden flowers with a burgundy red eye. Bloom starts 6 to 8 weeks early, during cool spring nights, a plus for gardeners and for retailers whose customers will be captivated by the colorful display on their springtime shopping trips. Short grassy foliage is rust resistant and compact plants make a welcome addition to the perennial border.   


Normal daylilies with loads of smaller flowers have 22 chromosomes and are called “Diploids”. “Tetraploids” have double the number, with 44 chromosomes and are noticeably more vigorous, with larger, more intensely colored flowers on stronger scapes. Kokomo Sunset(TM) Daylilies are vigorously growing Tetraploids with a heavier substance.

Daylilies flower best when planted in sun (6 hours/day). They prefer moist, yet well-drained soil. Amend the soil with compost when first planting, and space plants 12 to 18 inches apart. Plant at the same level they were growing in the pots, or with bare root daylilies, plant the crown about an inch beneath the soil. Water in thoroughly, mulch, and later scratch some compost in around the root zone once a year. But if you cannot meet these conditions, go ahead and plant daylilies just about anyplace, under any conditions including large containers, and they will do their best to provide you with a marvelous show.

Look for Kokomo Sunset(TM) Daylilies from Garden Debut(R) in garden centers this spring. I'm getting some for my garden.