Larry Hurley shares his Photo of the Month featuring Meadow Blazing Star, a native perennial that’s a magnet for monarch butterflies. A must-have for any garden looking to support these beautiful pollinators!
A visit to Mount Cuba Center sparked this look back at their Echinacea trials—45 coneflower varieties, tested and compared, with some clear standouts that still shine in today’s gardens.
Peony season may be short, but choosing the right variety makes all the difference. Here’s why mail order might be your best bet for fall planting
Looking for a late-summer showstopper that pollinators love and rabbits leave alone? Meet Rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’—an old favorite that’s stood the test of time. With bright yellow, drooping petals on 7-foot stems, this coneflower isn’t shy. I first grew it back in 1984 at Behnke’s, and it’s still a standout in my garden today. 💛
This photo is from 1985, a year after we moved into our Bethesda home, and a year after I planted a “pass-along” plant, a gift from a coworker. He told me it was Marsh Marigold, and that’s also what I…
I hope you have had a chance to visit one of the orchid shows around your area this winter. They are always a nice change from the cold, and bring thoughts of tropical travels. So many kinds and colors! You…
Where do new perennials come from? Many are grown in tissue culture by specialty growers. One that we worked with a lot when we were growing perennials at Behnke’s was Terra Nova Nurseries, in Oregon. They have an extensive breeding program for…
I know that mums are one of the keystone plants for fall decoration. I find them sort of boring, after handling many thousands of them over the years. Familiarity and contempt, and all that. There are some nice perennials…
Rudbeckia subtomentosa, known as “Sweet Coneflower” is one of a number of species of Black-eyed Susans. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden, in 2003 a nurseryman named Henry Eilers found this unusual form with quilled petals in the wild. If you took…
Although bees, butterflies and hummingbirds get much of the credit for pollinating, there are loads of other pollinators in your garden. This is a photo of a (non-native) hybrid ornamental onion, Allium ‘Millenium’. This was the Perennial Plant Association Perennial…
We horticulturists are always looking for (or breeding plants for) shorter and more compact plants. There are many reasons for this. If you reside in a place where you have a yard, odds are good that you don’t have a…
This week, we said goodbye to yet another of Behnke’s Best. Our friend and co-worker Becky Beaver passed away at her home on July 21st after a long, courageous battle with cancer. Those of us who knew and loved Becky…