Author Archives: vlm

This beautiful tree is a staple in any garden center. Cherry’s as a family are gorgeous spring bloomers but this one’s vase like shape and huge double pink flowers are truly unique. It requires full sun and decent soil, but as long as you amend the soil around it, it should thrive quite well. Growing to about 20-25’ tall it does require a little bit of space vertically. If you have the space for it, it is a must have for any landscape.

Pansies are one of the first bursts of color in the early months of spring. Their vivid coloring and interesting patterns on their flowers make them perfect for window boxes and small pots. They are a long time favorite of many people, especially for early color. They tend to like mostly shade conditions, especially in the summer. The Pansie’s flower lasts until about early June or early July depending on the heat of the season. A wonderful pick for any and every garden!

There is no flower that is as romantic as the Bleeding Heart. Each heart-shaped blossom is pierced at a point with a small touch of white. The deep-rose colored blossoms dangle from the horizontal stems very gracefully. They like part to mostly shade conditions. In the summer the blossoms die off and their green and grey foliage takes over. They become dormant as the summer goes on and eventually fade away, but will sprout again in the spring of future years. Bleeding Hearts make excellent additions to woodland borders and shady wildflower gardens.

Being from southern New Jersey, when you think of rhododendron you probably think of that enormous green bush that puts out huge purple flowers in the end of spring. Well there is good news, these varieties grow only to about 3-4’ tall and just as wide. They are a true dwarf variety that requires no trimming, or pruning to keep them that size. They can tolerate full sun conditions, but prefer partial to filtered sunlight. They will survive in shady conditions but they amount of flowers will be less. They bloom quite profusely with a variety of colors including white, pink, deep salmon, and red, in late spring and early summer.

This early spring showpiece is quite the eye-catcher in any landscape. Unlike its cousin the weeping cherry, it is a very compact tree and doesn’t grow more than 5-6’ tall and 7-8’ wide. Its profuse flowering of beautiful white blooms help draw attention when much of your landscape is still beginning to bud in the middle of march. The blooms last about 2-3 weeks depending on weather and other factors but the early bloom helps ring in spring with a bang.

Azaleas are probably the most widely used shrub in landscaping. They bloom in early spring and then stay green for the rest of the season. Azaleas will tolerate partial shade. Locally grown azaleas are usually the best choices since they are the hardiest. Azaleas from other regions need to adapt to the local soil conditions and weather, which often takes one full cycle of seasons so they need a bit more initial attention. For example, in hot weather, azaleas need extra water. Even if you have a sprinkler system, newly installed azaleas, ones put in within the past 6 months, need an extra soaking. With the many colors choices, you are bound to find a place for azaleas in your yard.

Very similar to its cousin the Eastern Red bud, the Forest Pansy is a rare find in most places. Its stunning purple color and heart shaped leaves make it a great addition to any garden. When they bloom its a spectacular display of rosy-pink that last for about 2 weeks. They grow to be about 15-25′ tall and 10-15′ wide. They need full sun and generally good growing conditions. Forest Pansy’s are excellent accents to add color to any yard.

This little known shrub has become widely popular for its striking color and versitility in the yard. Everyone can enjoy this shrub as it will take full sun to shady conditions. Its bright holly-like leaves make quite a statement in any portion of your yard. the most popular uses have been foundation plantings, and accent shrubs throughout your landscape. Osmanthus is a very easy shrub to maintain and requires no special care. Overall it is one of our favorite new plants to bring to you.

This brand new shrub from Monrovia growers comes to us from the northern hardy series of camellias. Previous varieties have not been cold resistant enough to survive in our zone 6 climate, but these new varieties are winners all around. These varieties aren’t too big either, growing to be about 4-6’ tall and wide and they are evergreen so they keep their dark green foliage all year. They like full sun to partial sun, but they are best if they are in a southern location. This will increase the amount of blooms it puts out at the beginning of the season. Camellias are one of the very few shrubs that will put out blooms in February, when all of us know, winter is still lingering around. They bloom for about 2-3 weeks with shades of pink, red, and white, and help remind us that spring is not too far away.