Cherries are in the genus Prunus with a few other delicious fruit trees: almonds, peaches, plums, and apricots. The fruit of these trees is called a drupe or stone fruit, a fruit with a sweet fleshy outside and a hard, stony center or pit encasing the seed. Other plants that have drupes are coffee, olives, [...]
Viburnum are shrubs and small trees primarily used for their showy fragrant flowers, seasonal leaf color, and ornamental fruit. These deciduous shrubs provide a wonderful three-season show that creates a dynamic quality for a year-round interesting garden. They will pollinate, bloom, and fruit individually, but they are much more productive if planted in groups. They [...]
Flowering shrubs can really brighten up your garden's architecture, supplying height and structure along with a healthy dose of color. Many shrubs and trees will flower and seed in the early spring, leaving you with months of simple foliage and no flowers. Here is a list of three summer-blooming shrubs that will keep your garden [...]
Around this time of year, after most gardens have been planted, we start to get questions about plant care and gardening tips. The one question that Wayside Gardens' customers seem to ask more than any other is, "How do I keep deer out of my garden?" The depressing truth is that deer are like goats [...]
We'd just like to wish all of you mothers out there a Happy Mother's day. I know I will spend this weekend, letting My mother, sister, aunts, and nieces know how much they are appreciated. I've got to make a last minute stop by the garden center before I leave work this afternoon. It's a [...]
You don't have to live in a witch's cottage to grow a garden hospitable to local wildlife. Whether big or small, your humble courtyard or patio can be teeming with life in a single season. Once you've created your backyard conservatory, you can have it certified by the National Wildlife Foundation (NWF) and receive a [...]
I'm not sure about the rest of the country — because I didn't grow up there — but here in South Carolina, the scent of Magnolia trees is as much a part of summertime as sweet iced tea, running though sprinklers, and fireflies. I knew the scent of Magnolias before I knew what they were [...]
This week's plant of the week is a beautiful hardy fern. Dryopteris 'Brilliance', as the name suggests, is one of the showiest ferns on the market. The color-changing properties of the foliage are what gives 'Brilliance' its unique appeal; the shiny leaves transition from a bright copper color in early spring, through a soft green [...]
Looking for some great foliage interest in your shade or filtered sun that isn't hostas or painted ferns? How about Lamium 'Purple Dragon?' It's a real survivor, thriving across six zones (3-8), and it produces big, beautiful clusters of purple flowers for many weeks. The eye-catching silvery-white leaves shade quickly to dark green around [...]
This week's Plant of the Week is a real crowd pleaser and a plant that I have personal experience with — it's been growing beautifully next to my patio for almost three years. The foliage is what seals the deal on Weigela My Monet™. The dense bright tuft of pretty pink, green, and white leaves [...]