Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Think beyond the Usual Suspects

While there are lots of blooms in the garden in July, you may not include a number of flowering woody natives. Swamp azaleas (Rhododendron viscosum) blooms in early July when other rhodies are past flowering. Oxydendron (Sourwood tree) surprises in mid-July with white flower panicles that stay on into winter. And, in late July, summersweet (clethra) blankets itself in fragrant flowers loved by the bees and butterflies. All of these plants also tolerate at least some shade, making them adaptable and valuable additions to New England gardens. And once established (a couple of years in the ground) they can, under most conditions, dependably take care of themselves.


 

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