When I say “holly” it probably puts a very specific image in your mind: bright green, shiny leaves with lots of jagged edges, and bright red berries too. Compact Inkberry Holly … [Read more...]

St Johns Wort (Hypericum ‘Hidcote’) is a plant I didn’t use a lot initially. Then we were asked to quote a landscape installation for a client in Great Falls. They had just … [Read more...]

I can only assume that there’s a clever link between Sixteen Candles Sweet Pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia ‘Sixteen Candles’) and the Molly Ringwold movie, but I’m an embarrassment … [Read more...]

Why do I love spreading Japanese plum yew (Cephalotaxus harringtonia ‘Prostrata’)? I grew up with the sandy soils of southeastern New England. That freely draining soil meant that … [Read more...]

Maybe I watched too many cartoons as a kid (not possible), but I have a thing for weird looking plants. Shaggy, weepy, contorted, twisted, it’s all good to me. Hinoki cypress … [Read more...]

Every landscape designer wants their customers to be successful with their plantings. That can be hard when our clients want plants that are a little fussy or finicky. I like … [Read more...]

Globosa blue spruce (Picea pungens ‘Globosa’) provides a pop of color in a green, green, green landscape. Contrast is important in landscape design. Globosa blue spruce is a … [Read more...]

If you were to tell me that you don’t like Virginia native plants, I’d say to check out Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) and then see if you feel the same way. It’s at home … [Read more...]

When I was a kid, with a very active imagination, my friend’s parents bought a new fridge. Seeing that cardboard monolith that I could turn into a fighter plane. I couldn’t help … [Read more...]

Green Giant Arborvitae (Thuja ‘Green Giant’) actually has nothing to do with the jolly green giant, which is kind of a bummer. I used to love those commercials as a kid, although I … [Read more...]