Writing
My love of plants extends to writing about them. I look back at my introduction to gardening via my first copy of Rodale's "All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening" published in 1992 and buying our first bit of ledge-locked land in New Hampshire where there is no soil, just angry roots and vines and biting bugs. It took years of hard work to grow anything here and I began documenting my face-to-face experiences with wild flowers and insects and finally coaxed perennials. I was able to land a few publishing gigs and went on the NPR radio call-in Exchange program, where people called in to ask gardening questions, man, that was a blast. I hope these will amuse and inspire you to look a little more closely to how truly amazing the kingdom of plants really is.
• Nyssa sylvatica ‘Wildfire’. This offers reliable, scarlet-red fall color and has showy red new growth in spring and summer. Best of all, it has very little in the way of insect or disease issues.
• Parrotia persica. Although this can be hard to find in nurseries, it is worth owning. The fall color is variable from year to year, ranging from a sharp yellow to a brilliant mix of yellow-orange and red. The bark on older trees becomes a patchwork of muted colors. The limbs are sinewy and slightly twisted, giving the tree an interesting aspect in the winter.
• Betula nigra ‘Little King’. A dwarf cultivar of the river birch, this is a great substitute in smaller gardens for the considerably larger species and its cultivars. The papery, cinnamon-colored bark is attractive all year long, and the fall color is a pleasing yellow.
• Acer japonicum ‘Aconitifolium’. A nice, small tree with reliably showy fall color, usually in a mix of oranges, yellows and reds. It grows slowly and features feathery, deeply cut leaves. This is good for adding some texture to the garden.
• Rhus typhina ‘Tiger Eyes’. This great three-season tree features finely cut, yellow compound leaves during spring and summer. In the fall, the leaves turn from yellow to bright orange.
• Cercidiphyllum japonicum. The katsura is a lovely tree all year long. Early to change color in the fall, the leaves go from a rich green to a warm, buttery yellow in mid-October. This color is often accompanied by a sweet, sugary fragrance.
• Oxydendrum arboreum. The sourwood is notable for its strings of white, late-summer flowers and stunning scarlet-red foliage.
• Clethra alnifolia. This is an adaptable shrub with fragrant, latesummer flowers. The fall color of summersweet is a festive, bright yellow that lights up on rainy autumn days.
• Amsonia hubrichtii. This adds a textural element to the garden during spring and summer. In fall, these plants really stand out as their fine, feathery leaves turn to gold.
• Itea virginica ‘Little Henry’. This nice dwarf form of the Virginia sweetspire is a versatile plant that grows in sun or shade, although it prefers a loamy soil. Grown for its fragrant flowers that attract butterflies the fall color is a reliable red-orange.
• Ornamental grasses. These add movement and texture to the garden, and carry a garden along, particularly in late summer and fall when many grass species really shine.
‘Degroot's Spire’ arborvitae. These remind me of the tall dark and narrow Mediterranean Cypress trees only for our tough growing zone 4-5. You can have so much fun with thoughtful placement and drama in any garden in Full sun!