Division of Extension
Black medic is a prostrate clover-like weed with small yellow flowers, often growing in lawns and garden beds. Originating from Europe and temperate Asia, this leguminous plant (legume) is also called yellow trefoil, black clover and hop medic. Read more about identifying and managing this weed.
Silver sage is a perennial with eye-catching large, fuzzy, blue-green leaves that contrast nicely with other plants. Learn more about silver sage in this article.
Globe amaranth is an interesting plant to add to the garden. This annual has stiff, papery bracts that form the showy “flowers” in a range of colors from pink to red to purple, plus white. Learn more about this easy-to-grow plant in this article.
Here’s a low-maintenance plant with spires of foamy white flowers and mounds of dark leaves that turn golden in the fall. This perennial combines well with many other plants in the shade garden. To learn more about goatsbeard, read this article….
Parsley is a biennial grown as an annual for its pungent foliage. Not only is it tasty, but it can also be grown as an ornamental for the attractive mounds of foliage. To learn more about parsley in this article.
Light blue, upward facing flowers bloom early in the spring – sometimes even poking out of the snow, giving rise to the common name glory-of-the-snow. Chionodoxa forbesii is a great addition to gardens in beds, for naturalizing or mixed in a lawn. Learn more in this article.
Winter aconite is an early spring bloomer producing bright yellow flowers close to the ground. This tuberous perennial is right at home in rock gardens, flower beds and woodland gardens. Find out more in this article.
Bells of Ireland features an unusual green inflorescence have been a symbol of good luck for centuries. Learn more about Molucella laevis in this article.
With huge, fragrant flowers hanging from a small tree, angel’s trumpet is a spectacular exotic plant common in the tropics. It can also be grown as a seasonal outdoor plant in the Midwest during the summer, or as a conservatory plant. There are many species and hybrids of Brugmansia. To learn more about this interesting group of tropical trees and how they can be grown in cold climates, read this article.
There are numerous cultivars of Dianthus that make great additions to the garden. Dianthus gratianopolitanus ‘Firewitch’ has been chosen by the Perennial Plant Association as their Plant of the Year 2006. With shocking magenta flowers and blue foliage, it’s not one to disappear into the landscape! To learn more about this tough, pretty low-growing plant, read this article…
Hanging high in trees in warmer climates, mistletoe is a plant that has a long history of myth and tradition dating back to ancient times. Learn more about this interesting group of parasitic plants in this article.
With glossy leaves and clusters of brilliant orange flowers in late winter, this exotic tender perennial makes a nice houseplant. Native to souther Africa, it is now used as a landscape plant in mild climates around the world. To learn more about kaffir lily or clivia, read this article…
