Love Notes from the Garden

11/23/2025

Golden St. John’s Wort (Hypericum frondosum - ‘Sunburst’, bred for showy flowers and a more compact form, is pictured here) grows to around 3’ high and wide in sun to part shade. This low maintenance shrub is native to the Southeast and up into Missouri and Kentucky. That range falls into Zones 5-8; it may be evergreen in Atlanta and die back to the roots in St. Louis. Yellow summer flowers fill the plant in summer. Later, the seed capsules are attractive additions to flower arrangements with Dahlias, grasses and Asters.

Shrubby St. John’s Wort (Hypericum prolificum) is a 2-4’ shrub that is native to the Eastern half of the United States. While ‘Sunburst’ is a showy option for landscapes, Shrubby St. John’s Wort seems to be a better native choice to attract pollinators, handle moist soils, and grow into Zones 3-4.

Some species, like Hypericum perforatum, are European/Asian natives and considered invasive here. It is worth it to do a bit of research before buying a St. John’s Wort to make sure you bring a happy, unfussy addition into your garden.

08/17/2025

I have never seen artichokes growing before!

03/29/2025

When a friend asks if they can plant tomato and pepper plants now, please share this post. They have time to get a crop of cool season veggies in before it is time to plant tomatoes.

It is late March in Northwest Arkansas, with temps in the 70s, sunny skies and spring fever hitting hard. Plants are in front of stores and garden centers are buzzing. Everyone wants to plant NOW. 

02/22/2025

When the soup recipe calls for fresh sage leaves and it’s 28 degrees out, and you know your young sage will come through.

12/15/2024

Even in December, this is how I start planning my week.

09/27/2024

Stay safe Georgia friends!!!

09/24/2024

Finally. The thrift store mirror in the kitchen garden has a nice reflection when viewed from the guest room window.

07/04/2024

Hemerocallis ‘Siloam Ury Winniford’ daylily

04/14/2024

They look like mosquitoes, but they are not.

I asked a couple of my gardening friends in Arkansas and Georgia if they had seen mosquitoes – mine were numerous and huge and it was only early April. They both replied that they may look like mosquitoes, but they are not and do not bite. They weren’t sure of the name. “Do you have any mosquito bites? If they are mosquitoes, you would. These are common in early spring.”

A few days later one reported back to me after having lunch with an entomologist. These are crane flies. There are over 15,500 species and over 500 genera of crane flies found throughout the world, mostly ID’d by one scientist over 70 years. They live for about 2 weeks and do not bite. With such a short life span, one source says they do not even need to feed. However, they are very important in the food chain to feed other insects, amphibians, fish, mammals, spiders, and birds.

One friend said her crane flies hang out on the north side of her home. Mine seem to gather at my north-facing front door. The entomologist said the larva hatch in moist areas. Some species larva are a pest, but it seems to me this happens in areas where only one plant is grown, such as turfgrass or an agricultural crop. In a garden with a variety of plants and creatures, I am not concerned.

Over the years, I have gathered reference books to help me identify the living things in my garden, and plants that host the living things I want in my garden (like the caterpillars that become butterflies).

Some of the best are the laminated guides I stash in a convenient place to ID insects, spiders, butterflies, and birds. Botanical garden gift shops are where I often find a good supply of guides. The ‘good bugs’, even the ‘good snakes’ (who eat rodents and poisonous snakes), usually far outnumber the ‘bad’. Knowledge is power that can help create a garden that is also a habitat.

01/30/2024

Camellias are blooming in Savannah!

01/05/2024

This is last fall's foliage on Eclipse® Bigleaf Hydrangea in my front yard and the subject of last week's Love Notes from the Garden: https://mailchi.mp/gardentravelexperiences/eclipse-hydrangea

Bailey Nurseries
First Editions Shrubs & Trees