Adrienne - ONCE UPON A CONEFLOWER

Two Petite Goatsbeards to Know

Shade gardens can pose a challenge in that they can be hard to brighten up once the spring ephemerals have passed. One plant that is very useful for this is goatsbeard. A native of damp mountainous woodlands, goatsbeard is found all across the Northern Hemisphere. Its creamy white plumes in late May into early June are a welcome addition along with the astilbes, which they somewhat resemble.

While native goatsbeard can be too big for suburban gardens at five to six feet tall, there are two smaller versions perfect for tight spaces.

Making A Garden Plan

Written plans can be as simple or elaborate as you wish

All of us end up revamping our landscape or garden at some point, whether it’s because plants died and need replacing, we’re having hardscape installed, or a flowerbed has become overgrown and needs an overhaul.

Here’s where a written landscape plan is invaluable. If your needs involve significant hardscaping like laying pavers or excavating a retaining wall or pool, you will want to hire a professional. But for simpler garden makeovers, drawing up your own plan is easy, costs nothing and is exceedingly helpful.

This article covers two types of plans: A simple sketch that anyone can do, based on my own plan to refurbish my front bed. And a much more complex plan intended for large properties, or just for fun.

Confusing Spring “Blues”

No, I don’t mean bluegrass music or feeling down in the dumps. I’m talking about spring bulbs featuring racemes of blue florets. Many are members of the scilla family which encompasses 80 to 90 species all by itself. They bloom at roughly the same time and look similar, so it can be challenging to keep them straight.

To make matters worse, many species are interchangeably referred to as squill or hyacinth because their Latin nomenclature is twisted and still unresolved. Subfamilies like bluebells can be further divided into English, Spanish or Virginia. Then there’s chionodoxa, Siberian squill, muscari, true hyacinth, and camassia — all blue, all spring blooming.

Do you know which is which? Does it matter?