Lilies are the queens of the early summer garden. They are tall, sometimes reaching 8’ to 10’. There are many new dwarf hybrids that are 1’-2’ tall. These photos show the range of colors that are available: If Lilies are growing well in the right conditions they will not need staking. They prefer part shade…

Dianthus are small (6”-10” tall) rock garden plants that bloom in the spring and are very fragrant. Commonly called ‘Pinks’ because of their color; there are many varieties that are white, rose, red, orange and purple. Carnations (Dianthus caryophyllus) are taller Dianthus that are often used for cut flowers. Garden Pinks are hybrids of Dianthus…

Being the most popular flower in the United States I thought that Dawn Gardens should have a rose garden. I had my daughter, Corrie, lay out the paths with flags and then my crew came up from the Bay Area and installed the steel edging and the DG (decomposed granite) paths. Here are some of…

Evergreen Azaleas are a type of Rhododendron; they are usually small – under 2-3’. The main difference is botanical which I am not qualified to discuss but I think it has something to do with the number of flowers in a cluster. Here are some Azaleas at Dawn Gardens. They are irrigated with 2 emitters…

Sometimes called deciduous Azaleas these plants are more in the yellow/orange/red color range while the evergreen Rhododendrons are in the pink/purple range. Deciduous Rhododendrons are usually fragrant but the evergreen Rhododendrons are usually not fragrant. The bloom time is April and May. Here are a few deciduous Rhododendrons at Dawn Gardens: Rhododendron ‘Umpqua Queen’ Rhododendron…

This blog is about evergreen Rhododendrons and the next will be about the deciduous Rhododendrons and the next will be about Azaleas. All Azaleas are Rhododendrons but not all Rhododendrons are Azaleas. Rhododendrons come in all sizes from a 2’ dwarf to a 40’ tree. They are native mainly to Asia but a few are…

The California Buckeye is native to the coastal ranges and the Sierra foothills. It is a small tree that is noted for going dormant early (July – August) to avoid the summer dryness and heat. The Buckeye is native to California and southern Oregon at elevations below 4000’. Life for the California Buckeye (Aesculus californica)…

The Iris garden is in full bloom now but it won’t last much longer – maybe until June 1st. Even though the flowers don’t last too long they are some of the most beautiful and fragrant flowers in the garden. These Iris are commonly called “Flags” or German Iris. Even though they are evergreen they…

Dogwoods are understory trees native to many places in the world. Dawn Gardens has 10 different varieties mostly planted on the south side of the house in the Heather garden on the slope. The following is a video of the Dogwood garden at Dawn Gardens. Video was taken on April 22. Pacific Dogwood (Cornus nuttallii)…

These 2 plants have always confused me because they both have flowers made up of stamens. The main difference is one blooms early in the winter and the other blooms in mid spring. This is Hamamelis intermedia ‘Jelena’ commonly called Witch Hazel. It is a large shrub that can reach 15’. This plant is about…