Tips for Butterfly BushesBe sure to cut your Butterfly Bushes right back to 4 - 6 inches from the ground in the spring.
Digging the Hole for a ShrubWhen planting shrubs, use a post digger to make a perfect sized hole in the ground to put your plant in.
Butterfly Bush HintsButterfly bushes are wonderful, large bushes with all different colors of flowers. If you buy one from a garden center (in a pot), you will know what you'll get for flowers. Be aware that they get very big (at least in California they do).
Pickle Juice for Prettier HydrangeasMy dad puts dill pickle juice on his hydrangea roots to make them turn purple and pink instead of just white. They are very pretty.
Hearts a Bursting BushThis is my Hearts A Bursting bush, sometimes known as a strawberry bush. It is showing its fall colors. The seed pods open in the fall and the seeds, usually 3-5 in each cluster resemble M&Ms. This is a plant that is native to the upper piedmont of North Carolina.
Buzz Buddleia As StandardMy two year old dwarf butterfly bush is coming along nicely. I am training it in the classic 'standard' form. By the end of the season, I should have twenty or so, more.
Testing Bargain Camellias (And Other Plants)The above picture is of a new variety of camellia. If I am correct, it is one of a series called 'October Magic', this particular variety being named 'Orchid'.
Most camellias bloom late winter to early spring.This plant is said to bloom in fall, at a time when there is little else in bloom. I like that.
