Unusual Plants
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Unusual Plants, Valentines Day Flowers
Hello Lover, Won’t You Be Mine?
Express Your Heartfelt Passion with Some Pizazz: Guzmania ‘Luna’ (Read More About Beautiful Bromeliads Here) It’s almost Valentine’s Day and everything, everywhere, is coming up roses. Yes, a rose is a rose is a rose, and by any other name it would certainly smell as sweet. But when it comes to expressing your love with […]
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Color in the Garden, Container Gardening, Dark Plants, Euphorbias, Exotic Plants, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Hardy Succulents, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Spring, Perennials for summer, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Pots, Succulents, Succulents in Containers, Un-Flower Pots, Unusual Plants
Somewhere Over the Ascot Rainbow, Beyond the Sunset Clouds . . .
Euphorbia x martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ & Sedum telephium ‘Sunset Cloud’ Catch the Morning Light out on My Balcony Oh, delicious, dynamic duo! Clearly, you can see that Euphorbia x martinii ‘Ascot Rainbow’ and Sedum telephium ‘Sunset Cloud’ are a match made in heaven. But in the late days of spring, this pairing wasn’t so obvious […]
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Asian Natives, Cutting Garden, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Peonies, Perennial Close-Ups, Shade Gardening, shrubs, Shrubs for early spring blossoms, Trees, Unusual Plants, Woody Plants
Black Dragon Holds a Splendid Flower …
Paeonia suffruticosa ‘Wu Long Peng Sheng’: Black Dragon Holds a Splendid Flower Wu Long Peng Sheng. Translated from Chinese, the name means, ‘Black Dragon Holds a Splendid Flower’. I haven’t seen the black dragon, but I keep looking. Maybe he’s hiding in the fern covered ledges; waiting to pounce if I pick this beautiful, magenta […]
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Ferncliff, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Ground Covers, Native Plants, Nature, Perennials for Autumn, Perennials for Spring, Plant Spotlight, Plants for shade, Plants for Texture, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Texture, Unusual Plants, Urns and Vessels, Water Gardens, Woodland plants
Dramatic Darmera Peltata: A Native Beauty for Bog Gardens & Damp Shade…
Darmera peltata’s pretty, pink spray of airy inflorescence Darmera peltata… What a lovely, musical name. Often the botanical labels for plants pale by comparison to their intriguing and creative folk monikers. But in this case, I think the name Darmera peltata is far superior to the common alternatives (Indian rhubarb and umbrella plant). Just look […]
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Color in the Garden, Container Gardening, Garden Art, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Seminars, Succulents, Succulents in Containers, Un-Flower Pots, Unusual Plants, Urns and Vessels
Behold the Brilliant, Jewel-Like Treasures! How Will I Contain Myself? Playing with Pots: An Annual Obsession
Echeveria ‘The Pearl’, Kalanchoe pumila and Portulacaria afra variegata – An indoor garden pot, slowly acclimates to the great outdoors on my steel balcony It’s an annual question. How will I contain myself? Although the vast majority of my gardening takes place in the ledgy pockets of soil here on my land, every year I create […]
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Cooking, Cooking with Kids, Ferns, Fiddleheads, Gourmet Garden, Late Autumn Garden, Mushrooms, Native Plants, Nature, Plant hunting, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Plants for shade, Recipes, Shiitake Growing, The Seasons, Unusual Plants, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Woodland plants
Spring Brunch from the Kitchen Garden: Shirred Eggs with Shiitake & Arugula …
Shirred Eggs with Homegrown Shiitake Mushrooms & Garden-Fresh Arugula I’ve always been a breakfast person. French toast, waffles, eggs, potatoes, pancakes; I enjoy them all. Sometimes, in fact, I would like them all at once. Because of my love affair with breakfast foods, I have developed some pretty liberal ideas about when they should be […]
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Books, Bowls, cactus, Container Gardening, Decorating Ideas, Decorating the Garden, Exotic Plants, Ferncliff, Garden Art, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Indoor Gardening, Inspirational Gardens, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, Pots, rock garden plants, scree gardens, Studio Garden, Succulents, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants, Urns and Vessels
Dusting Off, Cleaning Out, Taking Stock & Getting Ready for Gardening Season… Plus Another Giveaway!
The bright gold of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a cheerful welcome in a chair beside my front door. I like using natural baskets as decorative covers for inexpensive, recycled plastic flower pots. I do a similar thing with plants placed outside in summer, using everything from wooden crates and baskets to tin cans and flea market […]
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Begonias, Exotic Plants, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Plant Spotlight, Rare Plants, Silver foliage, Terrariums, Texture, Unusual Plants, Wardian Cases
A Silver-Screen Terrarium Goddess: Platinum-Dusted, Red-Velvet-Robed Begonia ‘Royal Lustre’… Hello Gorgeous!
Hello Silver-Screen, Terrarium Goddess: Begonia ‘Royal Lustre’ Even Her Backside is Perfect – Just Look at That Red… Begonia ‘Royal Lustre’ Inside a Terrarium, Lined with Sheet Moss… Substance is important in life. We all know that. But sometimes, every now and again, we just want to be swept off our feet. When I find […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conifers, Evergreens, Ferncliff, Foliage, Front Yard Gardens, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Paths, Garden Rooms, Ground Covers, Hardy shrubs, Hydrangea, Late Autumn Garden, Living Walls & Fences, Night Garden, Plant hunting, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, pruning, rock garden plants, Secret Garden Room, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Unusual Plants, Wind Breaks, Winter, Winter Garden, Winter Gardening, Woody Plants
A Tough Broad for all Seasons: This Sulfur-Tipped, Ice-Blue Chameleon Really Knows How to Wear the Pants…
Juniperus squamata ‘Holger’ atop the Secret Garden Steps in January It’s easy to get gardeners excited when I talk about big stars like hydrangea, azalea and viburnum. And most everyone swoons over those voluptuous and intoxicating bombshells: the roses, French lilacs and tree peonies. But junipers? Why they’re a lonely and oft-neglected group of garden […]
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Cooking, Gifts for Gardeners, Glamorous Gardens, Gourmet Garden, Green House Gardens, Home, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Kitchen, New England, Plant Spotlight, Plants for sun, Recipes, The Seasons, Trees for Fruit, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants, Woody Plants
Love in the Afternoon: Delightfully Decadent, Lemony French Toast…
Love in the Afternoon: Delightfully Decadent, Lemony French Toast Oh yes. I know what you’re thinking. What is she doing, lounging about in the afternoon with a plate of French Toast? Oh the sloth, the sloth! It’s just nothing but wickedness {smirk}. OK. Yes, Santa Baby, I have been a little —how shall we say— […]
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Children and Gardening, Container Gardening, Garden Rooms, Garden Science, Gifts for Gardeners, Home, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Pets and Gardens, Poisonous Plants, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Garden Room, Succulents, Succulents in Containers, Terrariums, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants, Winter
Dangerous Beauty: Poisonous Plant Information for Homes with Small Children & Pets…
Outside, Looking In: Dreamy —But Poisonous— Kalanchoe mangini Sits High Up in a Bedroom Window Like many cold-climate gardeners, now that the growing year has ended —and my outdoor garden pursuits are limited to vegetables in raised beds beneath hoop-houses— I find myself catering to a large Indoor Eden of overwintering plants. Throughout the cold […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Chartreuse, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Ferncliff, Ferns, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Paths, Garden Rooms, Gardening without Lawn, Ground Covers, Late Autumn Garden, Native Plants, ornamental grass, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Perennials for Autumn, Planting Techniques, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, Plants for Texture, rock garden plants, scree gardens, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Succulents, The Seasons, Unusual Plants, Walkways - Stone, Woody Plants
Behold the Beautiful Autumn Tapestry: A Kaleidoscopic Carpet at Our Feet…
Geranium ‘Brookside’ shows off in sensational shades of red and orange in mid-November Near-metallic gleam: Dryopteris erythrosora ‘Brilliance’ (Autumn Brilliance fern) Our native ground-covering Pachysandra procumbens (Allegheny spurge) provides beautiful and variable autumn color beneath shrubs along my garden’s entryway and along the shady parts of the path Now that I have accepted the skeletal […]
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Asian Natives, Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Autumn Garden Chores, Ferncliff, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Maintenance, Garden Rooms, Planting Techniques, Reflections, Rodent Damage Prevention, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, The Seasons, Tree Care, Trees, Trees for Fall Foliage, Unusual Plants, Winter, Winter - Preparations, Winter Garden
Preparing the Garden for Winter: Protect Young, Ornamental & Fruit Trees from Gnawing Rodents…
My young Royal Frost birch (Betula populifolia x Whitespire ‘Royal Frost’) tree’s golden-orange foliage in November Several years ago, when my father had heart surgery at the VA hospital in Boston, I was away from home quite a bit during the last three months of the year. Preoccupied with my dad’s health and juggling various […]
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Autumn, Autumn Color in the Garden, Chartreuse, Climbing plants, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Conifers, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Hardy shrubs, Japanese Maple, Late Autumn Garden, New England, ornamental grass, Perennials for Autumn, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Trees for Fall Foliage, Unusual Plants, Water Bowl, Water Features, Woody Plants
The Grand, Fall Foliage Finale: November Photo-Notes from Ferncliff…
Acer palmatum x dissectum ‘Seiryu’ and Viburnum bodnantense ‘Dawn’at the Secret Garden Entry in Early November It seems to me that the first week of November flew by in a complete blur. This morning I awoke to howling wind and the unmistakable sound of sleet blasting the windowpanes. In one short week, the vast majority […]
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Autumn Color in the Garden, Bee-Friendly Gardens, Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Bird Friendly Gardens, Birds, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Dark Plants, Early Spring Garden Plants, Ferncliff, flowering shrubs, Foliage, Fragrance, Herb Gardening, Native North American Woodlands, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Nature, North American Trees, Ornamental Berries and Fruit, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Plants for sun, Purple and Maroon Foliage, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for ornamental fruit, Spring Blooming Bulbs, The Seasons, Unusual Plants, Viburnum, Witch hazel, Woodland plants, Woody Plants
Mellow Yellow: Lovely Lindera Benzoin, North American Native Spicebush…
Lindera benzoin (Spicebush) in front of the Secret Garden wall (see complete plant list below) The question comes up every September in my garden. The meter-reader, oil delivery driver and countless guests have asked: “What’s that bright yellow shrub over there by the wall  …The one covered with birds and red berries?” When I ask, […]
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Berries, Color in the Garden, companion planting, Container Gardening, Exotic Plants, Ferncliff, Foliage, Garden Design, Garden Design Photos, Garden Rooms, Paths and Walkways, Perennial Close-Ups, Plant Spotlight, Plants for Light Effects, Plants for shade, Secret Garden at Ferncliff, Secret Gardens, Shade Gardening, Unusual Plants
A Splash of Color in Dappled Shade: Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’…. { PS: Please Don’t Confuse Me with My Wicked Cousin }
Persicaria virginiana ‘Painter’s Palette’, Variegated Virginia knotweed (aka Polygonum virginianum/Tovara virginiana) in the Secret Garden at Ferncliff â“’ Michaela at TGE Who says a plant needs flowers to be interesting? Be they speckled, lace-edged or luminous as stained-glass, leaves are often incredibly fascinating. In fact, some of my favorite species in the great Kingdom of […]
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Cutting Garden, Fragrance, Ground Covers, Plant Spotlight, Shrubs for fall color, Syringa vulgaris, Unusual Plants, Woody Plants
The Sweet, Seductive Power of Scent: Garden Fragrance…
Lily of the Valley, (Convallaria majalis), fills my bedroom with a fresh, green scent… “Smells  are  surer  than  sounds  and  sights  to  make  the  heartstrings  crack” ……………………………………………………………………- –………………………………………………………………………….rudyard kipling Imagine stepping outside and into the garden on a warm spring evening. Close your eyes and breathe deep. Does the air smell sweet? Are you drawn […]
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Annual Flowers, Books, Building, Conservatory, Green House Gardens, Indoor Gardening, Inspirational Gardens, Terrariums, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants, Winter Garden
Dreaming of a Horticultural Harem Overflowing with Hot House Hotties…
Hot, Hot Hibiscus © 2010 Michaela at The Gardener’s Eden Earlier this week in my post, “Ode to the Oscars”, comparing Oscar gowns to hot house flowers, I briefly mentioned that I am “conservatory sitting” for friends.  The owners of this small commercial greenhouse/nursery will be returning from the UK early next week, and sadly, […]
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Conservatory, Exotic Plants, Fantasy Flowers, Gardening Inspiration, Glamorous Gardens, Green House Gardens, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Rare Plants, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants
Ode to the Oscars: If They Were Flowers Botanical Stars Shine on the First Annual ‘Conservatory Awards’ Red Carpet…
Dress by Agapanthus, ‘Lily of the Nile’ © Michaela TGE As worn by ethereal Rachel McAdams © Steve Gratnitz/Wireimage via Yahoo.com The great Bard Shakespeare once wrote that “all the world’s a stage”. Well, the thought certainly crossed my mind today as I worked, surrounded by hundreds of surreal beauties inhabiting a small greenhouse temporarily […]
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Conservatory, Dark Plants, Home, House Plants, Indoor Gardening, Indoor Table Arrangements, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Terrariums, Tropical Plants, Unusual Plants
Hello, I Love You. Won’t You Tell Me Your Name?
Peperomia caperata ‘Raspberry Ripple’ Look at this dark, smoldering beauty ! Have I introduced you to my latest crush? The mysterious, maroon-hued Peperomia caperata ‘Raspberry Ripple’ ? No ? Oh, I’m sorry. I’ve been so distracted, I think I forgot. Shame on my recent preoccupation with mundane, practical things like snow removal. Well, here she is […]
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Annual Flowering Vines, Annual Flowers, annuals, Celebrations, Cutting Garden, Flower Seeds, Fresh Cut Flowers, Front Yard Gardens, Old Fashioned Flowers, Seeds, Unusual Plants, Valentines Day Flowers
Don’t Break My Heart: A Love Story Written in Old Fashioned Flowers…
Sweet Peas, from Johnny’s Seeds One fine day in early spring, a ravishing young lady named Poppy was out tending her flowers when, without warning, a smooth-talking fella named Sweet William appeared at the garden gate. Poppy was immediately smitten, and she leaned toward him as he drew nearer the fence. He was charming and […]
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