DON’T PANIC: Nothing’s wrong, and they’re not all dying in unison, I promise. Though we commonly call them “evergreens,” conifers such as pine, arborvitae, spruce and Hinoki cypress (above) lighten their load of old needles in late summer and fall, with a show of yellowing or browning that can scare a gardener at first. [read more…]
conifers
when inner conifer needles turn yellow or brown
October 8, 2012 By 15 Comments
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my top conifers for year-round garden beauty
October 2, 2012 By 26 Comments
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CONIFER, the “beautiful one” to your eye? I could only narrow my list down to 10, plant-mad person that I am, but with hints of the winter landscape in the cooler air, I’m thinking of just how important evergreens are. [read more…]
beloved conifer: prostrate japanese plum yew
April 15, 2012 By 9 Comments
I KILLED, OR AT LEAST MAIMED, ITS UPRIGHT COUSIN. TWICE. But the prostrate-growing Japanese plum yew, Cephalotaxus harringtoniana ‘Prostrata,’ just keeps happily stretching its legs—and arms—on my back hillside. A handsome, heat-tolerant conifer that creates a sprawl of semi-glossy green groundcover in the shade…even though it’s many times wider than any book or other reference promised. More of a good thing, I guess you could say, and also deer-resistant. [read more…]
giveaway: q&a with broken arrow’s adam wheeler
March 9, 2012 By 237 Comments
WHAT I MISS MOST about my Martha job: I had other garden geeks as colleagues, and the chance to talk plants nonstop. These days I pester people like Adam Wheeler of Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut instead. The latest in my series of nursery and seed-company Q&As: a chat with Adam about everything from outstanding wildlife shrubs and underused hydrangeas and magnolias; to using variegation in the garden, growing giant pumpkins and more. Plus: a chance to win one of two $25 Broken Arrow gift certificates I’ve bought to share with you. [read more…]
most asked-about: japanese umbrella pine
June 23, 2011 By 14 Comments
MOST WEEKS I GET AT LEAST ONE COMMENT OR EMAIL–sometimes many more–about my beloved Japanese umbrella pine, one of two plants that traveled with my belongings in the moving van when I first bought this house as a fixer-upper weekend project 25 years ago. That’s it at the axis of the photo above, behind my house. Thanks to the magic of search engines, gardeners in far-reaching spots read about my big old plant, and wonder if I can help them with theirs. When I hear the troubles people are having, I shudder: How in the world did I get so lucky, and what if I hadn’t? [read more…]
