shrubs

Spring is a wonderful season for gardeners. The weather is pleasant outdoors and visiting nurseries is such fun, but as well as popping into the ground plants that will give immediate gratification, also try to plant some fall bloomers.

The cherry tree that A. E. Housman wrote about in this poem is commonly known as bird cherry, which alas does not grow well for us in zone 6. A white tree that is a lovely substitute is the white dogwood.

Pruning woody plants keeps them vigorous and healthy, as well as improving their shape.

In late winter, after months without garden flowers, we are eager to see flowers in our homes. However, there is a wonderful feeling we get when we force branches of early spring-blooming trees and shrubs.

Christopher Lloyd enlarged the border at Great Dixter to encompass a length of 200 feet and a depth of 15 feet. At the back were small trees, with flowering shrubs in the middle and low edging plants in front.

One of Britain's most celebrated gardens, Great Dixter is a magnificent place where one can learn and be inspired. A trip there should be on every gardener's bucket list.

Fall is a great time to collect the seed pods from shrubs like baptisia and hardy hibiscus and store them in paper envelopes indoors until next spring.

If you want something in bloom all through the growing seasons in your garden, check that you have these plants.

If you are looking for deer resistant shrubs to plant in your unfenced yard, the safest evergreens are spruce, juniper, and boxwood.

Fall is a good time to plant shrubs. If you are eager to have more perfume in your garden there are many shrubs from which you may like to choose.