Archive for the Trees Category

Citrus kumquat ‘Nagami’: Please All Your Senses

Okay, pleasing tactile and auditory sense organs may be a stretch, but the texture of the fruit is nice, and the sound of rustling leaves on your patio is peaceful. But, my point is, Citrus kumquat 'Nagami' goes a long way towards turning your modest patio garden into a tiny tropical oasis. The sweet fragrance [...]


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Cornus Kousa Venus®: A Hardy Dogwood with Huge Blooms

Cornus kousa Venus® is a brand new dogwood with bigger blooms, improved drought and cold tolerance, and better resistance to the most common dogwood diseases.The huge snow-white blooms float on the outside of this peculiar tree like big butterflies. Venus® has an odd but interesting habit, with branches all the way to the ground, creating [...]


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Container Citrus Trees Give More Than Beauty

This weekend I bought a big bag of kumquats.  I had never actually tried one, though I’ve been fascinated by the little guys for years.  Not only is it one of the most fun fruit names to say, they’re like tiny, perfect little oblong oranges.  I was pretty sure that you’re supposed to eat the [...]


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Korean Fir: One of the Most Unique Conifers Around

We're always on the lookout for unique and interesting trees and shrubs, and it always pleases us to find a quality plant that will really stand out in your landscape.  Our Korean Fir 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' (Abies koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke') is definitely one of those plants.  Korean Fir is a real show-stopper, featuring dark green needles [...]


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Why You Should Plant a Tree This Year

While on a short day trip to nearby Athens, Georgia this weekend, I had a chance to briefly visit one of my favorite places in the world, the Tree that Owns Itself (or, more properly, the Son of the Tree that Owns Itself).  It is a white oak tree that was propagated from an ancient [...]


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The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC

After years of badly wanting to go, I finally got a chance to attend the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.  We left on a last-minute (and poorly-planned) whim Friday evening and returned Sunday night.  We were extremely fortunate to have had a free weekend just when the blooms were at their peak, and [...]


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Container-Sized Fruit Trees for your Indoor Orchard

We don’t all have the good fortune to live in Florida or Southern California.  Some of us have to get our limes, lemons, and avocados the hard way: from the grocery store.  However, there is another option for growing warm-climate fruits in not-so-warm areas.  Some smaller varieties of fruit trees do very well in containers, [...]


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Evergreens For A Little More Privacy

I was at my mother’s house this weekend, and I couldn’t help but notice that the backyard fence seemed a bit more exposed than usual.  I could easily see out the back window all the way to the road.  It seems that my father’s late-summer yard cleanup exposed a bit more than he’d expected.This isn’t [...]


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Fast Growing Fruit Trees

Fruit trees are always popular, but often it takes several years before a tree produces a substantial amount of fruit. But there are a few fast-growing fruit tree varieties that allow you to be growing your own fruit within a couple seasons. Dwarf citrus trees are small, and mature very fast, but you can only [...]


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Fast Growing Evergreen Trees

Most pines, cypresses, and thujas grow incredibly fast, and make a great quick fix for most of your garden needs. A tall pine like a Loblolly or rock pine can reach impressive shade tree heights in a third of the time that it might take many deciduous trees to reach the same height. And, the [...]


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