Outdoor
The Garden Guy: Temple of Bloom, The Most Exciting Small Tree
By Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker
Since fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs, I want to give a shout out to The Temple of Bloom, seven-son flower. This small tree is like the proverbial ‘tree of life.’
Every pollinator in the neighborhood will find it and hang out as well as those creatures that hunt pollinators. It is like a miniature version of the Serengeti. It has been hard for The Garden Guy to take the camera and binoculars and go indoors for fear of missing some action-packed moments.
It is known botanically as Heptacodium miconioides and you will find it in the Caprifoliaceae or honeysuckle family. Fear not, remember it is not the least bit invasive and keep in mind it is a shrub or small tree. One of the unique aspects of the Heptacodium genus is there are no other species, just the miconioides.
The thousands of white blossoms produced in late summer do impart a tantalizing fragrance. A rare horticultural event takes place once the petals fall.
The Missouri Botanical Garden describes it like this: “Flowers are followed in the fall by an equally showy (if not showier) display: small purplish-red fruits crowned by very showy rose-pink calyces which elongate after bloom and last into fall.” The fall display looks much more red than pink to me, but perhaps it’s determined by climatic conditions.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Norman Winter | Horticulturist, Author, Speaker
National Poinsettia Day is fast approaching, Dec. 12 to be exact. While I am sure the powers at be wanted a celebratory type of day, from what I have been seeing this year is this may be a deadline day. Have your poinsettias by Dec. 12 or you may not get any.
This most likely applies to poinsettia partners as well. If you are asking what a poinsettia partner is then put on your thinking cap and gather around.
Proven Winners got most of us to thinking partners when they introduced the concept of combining poinsettias with Diamond Frost euphorbias. This is one of the best ideas ever and we now actually have three choices, Diamond Frost, Diamond Snow with double flowers and Diamond Mountain that is the taller of the three.
To read more, pick up a copy of the December issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Jelly Cocanougher
How could an animal that lives on the side of the mountain look like he knows the answers to all of life’s most pressing questions? The infinite wisdom of the elusive mountain goat sparks extreme interest. Branches broken and wrapped with hair from an itchy mountain goat, his home shows the best views of Montana. All while welcoming passerbys with a humanized smile.
By Tony Dean, [email protected]
Frogfruit is a native perennial forb that is adapted to most of the eastern United States, but it is not particularly well-known to grazers. However, it actually contributes more to our plant communities than we realize. It is a low-growing plant, creeping along the ground no more than three to five inches tall and rooting at the nodes. It can form dense mats several feet in diameter and can develop runners up to three feet long.
Leaves are thick, one to two inches long and ⅜ inches wide and are toothed from the middle to the tip of the leaf. Tiny white flowers form a ring around a flower head, then the head elongates to a one-inch cylinder or longer. Frogfruit has a four-angled stem.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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