English Ivy: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant
Have you ever looked along a highway and observed all the trees covered in vegetation from trunk to branches? It was most likely English ivy (Hedera helix), the final of […]
Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden
Archives for the "virginia" Category
Garden Shop: Local Business & Farm Favorites
I can’t think of a better way to spend a cool spring morning than with a cup of hot tea, celebrating the sun with the tulips. We chat about the […]
Japanese Honeysuckle: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant
Our Dirty Dozen plant of the week is Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). This ornamental vine is still widely available in the horticultural trade, even though it has invaded all of the […]
Elaeagnus: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant
For this week’s Dirty Dozen plant, we have a triple threat: autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and thorny olive (Elaeagnus pungens). All three Elaeagnus species are invasive, […]
Italian Arum: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant
Our “Dirty Dozen” plant of the week is Italian arum (Arum italicum). Even though Washington is the only U.S. state to officially recognize arum as invasive, our horticulture staff have […]
A Lesson Learned: The History of Horticulture & Invasive Plants
Invasive Plants: How did They Get Here? If you’ve been reading our “Dirty Dozen” blog series, you’ve probably noticed a recurring theme in several of the articles: many invasive plants […]
Instagram GardenFest Contest
The GardenFest Instagram contest has become one of our favorite holiday traditions. It’s a wonderful way for us to reflect on a season of festivities, joy and see how our […]
Tree-of-Heaven: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant
This week we are featuring tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) as our “Dirty Dozen” plant. While this tree may have been used in folk medicine or even as an insecticide, it is […]
Crape Myrtle: Pruning
February is the time of year you may notice stark “stubs” of crape myrtles in parking lots and other areas around town. Often crape myrtle is so harshly pruned only […]
Oriental Bittersweet: A “Dirty Dozen” Plant
This week’s Dirty Dozen plant is oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus). Since it is still available in the horticultural trade, we hope that the following information will convince you not to […]