Our witch-hazel has been in bloom for a couple of weeks (late January and early February). The fact that it is blooming now is a clue that it is Hamamelis vernalis rather than Hamamelis virginiana, which blooms in the fall. Witch-hazels are nifty plants. Extracts from witch-hazels are mildly astringent and their forked-branches have been…
Category: Plants
A Photo Summary of Winter Sowing
An overview was given in a November blogpost which stated my intention to do winter sowing at the end of December or very early January. But here it is, the end of January. It’s possible that some of the seeds will not get the full length of cold they require because I got started so…
Winter Appreciation and Assessment
Now that the leaves are down from most trees and shrubs, it is a good time to get into the landscape for a bit of appreciation and assessment. Without foliage and the colors of the growing season, beauty emerges from the form, flow, texture, and earth tones present in the landscape. You can see the…
Planning Winter Seed Sowing
It’s time to think through and do some initial preparation for winter sowing. “Winter sowing” most commonly refers to starting seeds in a one-gallon plastic container such as a milk jug or water jug. Once seeds are planted in the prepared jug, the jug stays outside through the winter with very little to no intervention…
Identifying a Persistent Weed at Catchfly Commons
Hairy Bittercress or Lesser-Seeded Bittercress? Don’t take your eyes off the ball! A ubiquitous weed in our landscape is hairy bittercress, Cardamine hirsuta. Now begins the time of year for scouting these tricksters, just as much of the gardening work winds down. The first time I saw this plant in our landscape beds was probably…
Native Groundcovers: On the Sunny Side of the Street – the long and the short of it Part III
Groundcovers for sun are a bit trickier if we’re looking at the very low growing options. (A list of our taller groundcovers can be found at the end of this post.) Often the surrounding plants, being taller, end up shading these low growers, so they’re no longer in the full sun they prefer. This limits…
Native Groundcovers: Made in the Shade Part II
This week we’re covering additional shade-loving, low-growing plants which provide the functions of groundcovers as described in Part I. Here are five more short native groundcovers that do well in shade and that grow here at Catchfly Commons: Pachysandra procumbensAllegheny Spurge Native pachysandra is an important early spring source of pollen for native bees. To…
Native Grasses
Grasses are important plants to include in native landscape plantings. They can provide structure in a design and can provide beauty with their foliage and blooms. Functionally, grasses can support other plants, fill gaps between plants thus suppressing “weeds,” host Lepidoptera, and provide wildlife shelter. (1) Native grasses are either “warm-season” or “cool season.” Most…
Asters and Goldenrods in a Home Garden? You Bet!
Asters and goldenrods are major actors at this time of the year in the native plant garden because of their high value as late season nectar sources for pollinators and migrating butterflies. Goldenrods are represented in three genera, listed here with the number of Ohio native species in each: Solidago (25), Euthamia (2), and Oligoneuron…
Native Groundcovers: Made in the Shade Part I
The 2023 Open Garden at Catchfly Commons highlighted 26 native plant species that perform the functions of groundcovers in this landscape. They shade out and (hopefully) outcompete weeds, help moderate soil temperatures, and keep the soil surface from drying out. Their root systems can help stabilize soil, and a matrix of groundcovers can form an…
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