It is believed that roses were grown in all the early civilizations of temperate latitudes at least 5,000 years ago. The significant breeding of modern times started slowly in Europe, from about the 17th century with an enormous range of roses being bred ever since. The following post was submitted by Greenstreet Garden staff member, Maggie Wiles. Development of the David Austin's English Roses started in the 1960s by David Austin of Shropshire, England, who wanted to rekindle interest in Old Garden Roses by hybridizing them with modern hybrid teas and floribundas. The idea was to create a …

As the quintessential cottage flower, "pinks" are treasured for their grass-like blue/green foliage and abundant starry flowers, which are often spicily fragrant. Depending on the type of pink, flowers appear in spring or summer. They tend to be pink, red, white, rose, or lavender, but come in nearly all shades except true blue. Common Dianthus include Sweet William, pinks and carnations. The name Dianthus is from the Greek words dios ("god") and anthos ("flower"), and was cited by the Greek botanist Theophrastus. The flowers have five petals, typically with a frilled or pinked margin, and …

Weigela is a deciduous shrub with arching stems covered in bell-shape flowers that bloom in late spring to early summer. Weigela is a traditional favorite for mixed shrub borders and backgrounds. The following post was submitted by Maggie Wiles of Greenstreet Gardens.  Some of the newer cultivars will also re-bloom during the summer. There are also numerous new varieties that flaunt flashy foliage in shades of gold, green, white, and rose for a season-long spectacle. Sizes range from vigorous six-foot shrubs to very compact varieties well suited to mingling with perennials.   The tubular …

Clematis has been long hailed as the queen of the vines, and for good reason. There is no other perennial vine that offers as much versatility in both form and color and there has never been such abundant access to this wonderful plant then there is today. The timing and location of flowers varies; spring-blooming clematis flower on side shoots of the previous year's stems, summer/fall blooming clematis bloom only on the ends of new stems, and twice-flowering clematis do both. The following post was submitted by Maggie Wiles of Greenstreet Gardens.  Their garden hybrids have been popular …

As spring swings into season, here is the first installment of the newest column to hit Patch—Flower of the Week. Here, local experts and amateurs share either an exotic flower or a natural easy-to-grow one, while explaining how to care for it and why it will make your flowerbed look even better. Check back every Monday to see more info about the Flower of the Week.  The following post was submitted by Maggie Wiles of Greenstreet Gardens.  Camellia japonica has appeared in paintings and porcelain in China since the 11th century. This relatively slow growing native of China and Japan, with it’…