Nature produces some interesting shapes and this is very true for the flower of the buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Common buttonbush (or buttonwillow) produces these crazy looking little spiky ball-like blooms of compound florets. They’re pretty cool, actually, and both bees and butterflies agree. I caught this skipper butterfly feeding on a buttonbush flower while hiking in Choctaw Lake Recreation Area in the Tombigbee National … [Read more...]
Scentless Mock Orange – When a Dogwood isn’t a Dogwood at All
The yard of the house I lived in two years ago was lined at the edge with these beautiful flowering shrubs. I had never seen them before and the neighbors told me they were English dogwoods. The flowers certainly resembled the bracts that make up the showy white part the dogwood tree, but something was a little off. After doing some online research, I discovered that this lovely woody shrub is none other than the scentless mock orange … [Read more...]
Beautiful, Large Blooms of the Oak Leaf Hydrangea Shrub
Oak leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a favorite of native plant gardeners for many reasons. If you're looking for a shrub that is hardy, produces beautiful flowers, can grow in the shade, and has lovely fall colors, look no further. Here are just a few of the reasons why I love this shrub: #1 The large white flowers (in the shade!!) These flowers are quite simply gorgeous! They can get 6-10 inches long and have clusters of small white … [Read more...]
Red Buckeye Flowers For Butterflies, Bees, and Hummingbirds
Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) The bright red flowers of this native shrub are a favorite of hummingbirds and butterflies in early spring. In the southeast, it blooms in late March and early April and you can hear the hummingbirds buzzing around the blooms. The red buckeye always catches my eye when it is blooming. These tall shrubs are usually covered in red blooms. This weekend there was a good hatching of eastern black swallowtails in my … [Read more...]
How to Remove Holly Bushes
Holly bushes are notoriously difficult to remove. If you leave even a piece of a root in the ground, it may re-sprout and soon you’ll have new holly bushes and potentially even more growth in different places than you started with. Short of digging the entire root system up and pulling up the stump, is there an easier way to get rid of a holly bush? Here are some of the common treatment recommendations that you may hear: Chemical Stump … [Read more...]
Forsythia: A Shrub for Early Spring Color
Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia) is a non-native, deciduous, woody ornamental shrub. It provides only little wildlife benefit, but it is good for soil retention and a privacy barrier and is a fast grower. It is an early spring bloomer and provides bright yellow color to the landscape when there isn’t much other color. Flowers are profuse and bell-shaped, appearing in March through April before the leaves begin to grow. Flowers form on the … [Read more...]
