Dream of ThisYes, I know it’s a mouthful, but I love it even so. When I’m feeling tongue-tied, I can always refer to it by its common name: beautybush.
I received this shrub, Kolkwitzia Dream Catcher maybe 10 years ago as a trial plant from Spring Meadow Nursery in Grand Haven, Michigan. Actually, there were two plants, seedlings really, just a foot or so tall on a single stem. A lovely surprise since I had read about kolkwitizia but never seen it in the flesh, let alone grown it. I decided to make room for the pair under the bay window at the corner of the house, a spot where my sunny front border transitions to the semi-shady side yard.
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Columns
People ask me why, year after inexplicable year, I continue to crank out these bizarre little lyrics for the holidays.
Blog
This is the year of the hellebore, at least in my garden. I have about a dozen now, with several of the lime-green ones ...
Spotlights
They’re back, just in time for holiday decorating and gift giving! Terrariums, that is. They’ve recently made a big comeback…
Columns
Hard to pronounce, easy to grow, Kolkwitzia Dream Catcher™ was worth waiting for.
Columns
This, as I have been told by the esteemed staff of Chicagoland Gardening magazine, is the Ideas Issue.
questions
I’m moving to a townhouse with limited direct sunlight. I would like to put a Japanese maple in a north-facing garden but don’t know if it will do well. What are the best kinds? Also, when is the best time to plant a small tree?
What is the best time to plant a tree in northern Illinois?
Do the ants on my peony flowers help buds to open, or is this an old wives’ tale? What are the extremely tiny, microscopic yellow wormy looking bugs crawling on my pink peony flowers? My peonies are beautiful, but I don’t want all these bugs.
