Baldwin's Nurseries

08/09/2026

Meet Leymus arenarius ( aka Elymus arenarius) or coastal Blue dune grass. This is a spreading but striking grass, known for its steel blue foliage followed by yellow flowerheads.
This grass is highly drought- and salt-tolerant as well as resistant to browsing by deer and rabbits. Plant it in a location that takes into account its aggressive tendencies. It makes an effective ground cover for erosion-prone areas. It's not for everyone, but if you have an area where you have runoff/erosion issues, OR want to plant it in a container, it is a lovely thing. Some use its blue-green blades in floral arrangements, which is pretty cool.
Plant in full sun to partial shade in moist but well-drained soil. It prefers sandy soils but withstands a variety of soil types, moisture levels, and pHs.
Want the blue colour but not the rowdy tendencies? Try one of the switchgrasses such as Panicum Thundercloud, Dallas Blues, or Heavy Metal. These are clumping grasses rather than rhizome-spreaders.

08/07/2026

Hi folks, once again, for the safety of our staff and customers, we are closing today at NOON. See you all tomorrow, and hopefully it'll be cooler.
Photo is from the Agricultural Campus in Truro part of the Rock Garden. Go visit!

08/06/2026

Another hot one so again, we are likely closing shortly after noon--please call if you are thinking about coming out. My recommendation is stay home in the shade with a cool lemonade or tequila sunrise. We don't judge.🍹
Since we're mostly all hiding in the shade or indoors, a little reading for you, on when to water your garden. I watered one section this morning and have to do the containers this afternoon later.

Most home gardens need deep watering one to three times a week, adjusted for soil, weather, and plant type.

08/05/2026

Attention! For the safety of our staff and our customers, we are closing at 130 today, and this will continue for the duration of this heat warning period. Stay cool, everyone!

08/05/2026

Welcome to Wednesday, friends, and we hope you enjoyed your long weekend if it's a thing where you are! I know we posted about a hydrangea the other day, but when I saw THIS one, I squeaked and have been trying to decide where to plant it. It's called H. macrophylla 'Grin and Tonic' from the fine folks at Bloomin' Easy. Gorgeous dark green foliage is complemented by mophead flowers that start green and turn snowy white. It only grows to a max of 3 feet tall and wide, so I'm sure *I* can add it to my burgeoning collection of hydrangeas. Partly it's the name (I love a good plant pun), and partly the green flowers that turn white. t's a rebloomer so it will keep you delighted for many weeks through summer.

08/02/2026

Before we start talking about this plant, a reminder: we now are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays each week, so after today, we reopen on Wednesday at 9 am. I was away yesterday til evening so I forgot to post... but I did bring home a couple of new perennials I'm itching to get planted!

As a gardener, writer, and author, I trial a lot of new plants before I can recommend to nurseries that they try them, or entice other gardeners to do so. In recent years (we've talked about this before) the number of hydrangeas available has exploded, and for the best reasons. Used to be that many people sought blue hydrangeas like Nikko Blue, which bloos on old wood--and in our climate, tends to die back to the ground in cold winters so it never blooms in colder areas of the region. BUT these newer cultivars bloom on old and new wood, so even if they die back in winter, they bloom in the summer.

I first spotted this Eclipse bigleaf hydrangea up in Masstown, and I made that funny squeaking sound I make when something excites me. We have a few other dark-foliage varieties like Pink Dynamo, but I believe this may be the darkest one yet. And unlike Pink Dynamo, which is more of a lacecap type, this is a mophead with cranberry or amethyst blooms depending on your soil pH. And as the flowers start to open, they have green-white centres to each floret.

We have a limited number of Eclipse available, and we think you'll love it, too. Remember to plant hydrangeas in well-draining, compost rich soil, and you should mulch around the root area to help prevent wilting on warmer days when it's dry. (I put marine compost in the soil when I plant hydrangeas (also available at the nursery) and then bark mulch around the plant. Many hydrangeas will wilt down on hot days but they bounce right back once the sun is less intense (or if you need to water).

Alas, we don't have a cure for deer snacking on these plants, but if you can plant where the silly bratty beasts can't reach them, you will definitely be delighted.

07/30/2026

Before we talk about today's plant, just a warm thank you to all who take the time to comment and give their experiences with particular plants. I don't always have time to respond because I work a fulltime (and then some) job and can't be online all the time, but I read every comment and share them with Rob and Susan, who have even less time to be online. Thank you all!

Meet a rather unusual flowering grass that you probably need to add to your collection. This is Northern Sea Oats, Chasmanthium latifolium, its common name in reference to the similarity of the seed heads to those of oats.

Easily grown in average, medium to wet, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Tolerant of poor soils, but prefers moist, fertile soils, and is also one of the most shade-tolerant of grasses. Plant in the border, shade garden, native plant garden, naturalized area, along streams or on the edge of the water garden. Seedheads are good in fresh or dried arrangements.

According to literature (Missouri Botanical Garden, and others) this plant self-seeds but sadly, has never done so for me. It's native to the eastern US, is very showy when the flowers and seedheads come out, and naturally it's deer resistant.

07/29/2026

In some parts of the world, this showy red flower is called Montbretia. I've never heard it called that by anyone around here unless from the United Kingdom. We know it as Crocosmia, and this variety is the well known Lucifer. It grows from corms, sends up the sword-like foliage, and then sprays of absolutely fabulous red flowers appear, to the great joy of hummingbirds and other pollinators. And the gardener.

This plant USED to defy my attempts to overwinter it. Then a friend with a LOT of gardening experience in different parts of the world told me to plant those corms deeper than we might normally plant a root ball, and to put them in excellent drainage. My plant is now multiplying and is in its third year, high and dry and quite pleased with itself. (I am, too.) Apparently rabbits will nibble its foliage when young, but I have no info on whether Bambi enjoy them.

07/28/2026

We have two new yarrows this year that are turning heads and winning fans! Skysail Yellow is "a compact yarrow that blooms all summer long, consistently sending up bright orange buds, which then open to reveal brilliant gold, flat-topped flower heads. These bright flowers eventually age to shades of buttery yellow, giving this plant a multicoloured effect." Skysail Bright Pink is similar, with colour-changing flowers in shades from soft to brilliant pink. Both are drought tolerant, deer and rabbit resistant, and loved by all sorts of pollinators. These cultivars are also more compact and less inclined to flopping than some types. You gotta love perennials that bloom all summer, too!

*** Almost forgot! *** This is the LAST Tuesday of the season we'll be open. Starting in August, we'll be closed Monday and Tuesday and open Wed-Sun, 9-430.

07/26/2026

Here are two dramatically different types of heliopsis, or false sunflower. The first, Burning Hearts, has richly coloured flowers in shades of red and orange, plus dark green foliage with bronze highlights and black stems makes it a real showoff.
Equally showy in a completely different way is Bit of Honey, one of the yellow flowered forms with very showy, green veined white foliage. Both clump up nicely, love sun, and are beloved by pollinators. You can't go wrong with heliopsis varieties so long as you give them great drainage and a sunny spot.