Learning to See the Beauty of Nature in Our Gardens
Karyl Seppalla gardens for wildlife in northern Georgia. Her focus is wildlife gardening, biodiversity and native plants which is truly a labor of love. She writes about her adventures at Native Plant Wildlife Gardening, and you can find her on twitter. She says "…and oh, I’m kind of a dork and get really excited about things like baby turtles. Bear with me on that please."
American Fringe Tree Chionanthus virginicus has long been a favorite of mine for small space and urban gardens. It is a stunner in bloom – not much compares, and the summer and fall foliage is attractive enough to be worth incorporating it into a formal landscape design. I am happy to have seen this native [...]
Pawpaw Asimina triloba is a lovely little understory tree I would not be without. I first discovered it in my oak woods, happily naturalized and looking like something a bit more tropical than belonged there. Soon I fell in love with its bright green, large, drooping leaves that caught the light and glowed on moonlit [...]
Every spring the Red Buckeye Aesculus pavia brings me back into the gardening mode and has me excited about the coming growing season. One of the first plants to bud in my southern landscape, red buckeye takes her time leafing out. With large, bronze green buds and new foliage, it is a spectacular sight. The [...]
Sassafras Sassafras albidum is a native tree which I consider a ‘must’ for the wildlife garden. Not only is it an unusual and beautiful tree, Sassafras is a great food source for many critters which can visit a yard. In spring the flowers are a favorite food source for bees and other insect pollinators, during the [...]
Sometimes gardeners order things we don’t really know what are. We may see a plant in a catalog and think it sounds good, do a little research and decide that yes, we should try this one. Sometimes these ‘try’ plants work out, sometimes they don’t. Alabama snow-wreath Neviusia alabamensis is one which worked out extremely [...]
Itea virginica Virginia sweetspire is a lovely shrub for adding a different texture to a landscape. Understated and low maintenance, Virginia sweetspire is one of those natives that you plant and then leave alone to grow naturally. It is best suited for informal borders or hedges where its naturally rounded, graceful form can be left [...]
Aronia arbutifolia red chokeberry is a wonderful shrub native to the Eastern United States. It is easy to grow and adds value to a landscape both as a wildlife friendly food source and as an ornamental plant. Chokeberry is a deciduous shrub with a lovely, multi stemmed vase shape which is is a great choice [...]
Fall is upon us and I am doing a bit of seed collecting from some of my favorite plants. I don’t do a lot of seed collecting, just the few that excelled or those I found myself particularly fond of. Among these is Golden St John’s wort Hypericum frondosum ‘Sunburst’. Although not flashy, [...]
This summer I wad given the opportunity to see Franklin trees in bloom. Considered among the rarest of America’s native plants, it is believed to be extinct in the wild. Franklinia alatamaha is not common in the nursery trade due to the fact that they are difficult to grow and usually only sought after by [...]
For a bird garden, plant serviceberry, serviceberry and more serviceberry. Then if you find some space, plant another serviceberry. Over the years I have planted a considerable number of trees and shrubs for birds. Some worked, some were later ripped out as a waste of space. Serviceberry is not one I culled. In fact I [...]
I don’t how it works in the part of the country you are in, but here in Georgia Japanese barberry Berberis is landscapers candy and they use it by the truckload. It’s everywhere. You see it in residential gardens, shopping center landscapes, industrial and office parks. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it is the color [...]
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