The Node

Woodlanders' resource center for plant education, how-tos, garden inspiration, and news.

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Southeast

52 articles

Gardening for the Dry Years: A Xeriscape Field Guide for the Changing South

Field Guide · Xeriscape & Drought · Aiken, SC. As Southern summers lengthen and rain grows less reliable, these are the drought-proof heroes now filling our propagation benches: the salvia...

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A Field Guide to Cold-Hardy Citrus

Field Guide · Cold-Hardy Citrus · Zones 7–9 — A practical guide to choosing, siting, and keeping citrus alive north of the citrus belt: the hardiness ladder, the three families...

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South Carolina Grower's Dispatch: Summer 2026

The Grower's Dispatch  ·  South Carolina A Field Report for the Summer Ahead Anniversaries worth celebrating, a drought worth taking seriously, and a closer look at what to plant when...

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The Plants Bartram Saw

Field Guide · Native Flora · The Bartram Trail The Plants Bartram Saw A walk through the southeastern flora documented by William Bartram in Travels (1791) — and a quiet...

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The Southern Forest Floor: A Spring 2026 Collection

A field guide to woodland shade garden plants that actually belong there — and the evolutionary science behind why.

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The Hibiscus That Never Opens: Malvaviscus arboreus and the Slow Seduction of Turk's Cap

15 min · Ethnobotany, hummingbird ecology, and the Southern pass-along plant that blooms when everything else has given up.

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Working With Water: Managing a Wet Garden Area Using Southeastern Native Plants

From the Nursery  ·  Garden Design Working With Water: Managing a Wet Garden Area Using Southeastern Native Plants A wet spot is not a defect. In much of the Southeast,...

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Hometown Tropicals: Native Hibiscus spp. in the Landscape

From the Nursery  ·  Native Plants Hometown Tropicals: Native Hibiscus spp. in the Landscape The Southeast is home to twelve species of hibiscus. Most gardeners have no idea. By Jonas...

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A Guide to Kalmias, the Famed Mountainlaurel

Quick start Meet the genus Ecosystem Pollination Safety Care Species Design References Kalmia at Woodlanders We have been growing and offering Kalmia since the late 1970s. Over decades of propagation,...

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Longleaf Pine Restoration and the Art of Restraint in Modern Landscape Design

Essay • Longleaf Pine • Restoration & Design Longleaf, Reimagined An opinion piece from a student of horticulture—and a lover of design. Longleaf pine stand (Osceola National Forest, Florida). Image...

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An Exploration of the Conradina Genus

Woodlanders Botanicals Conradina: the scrubland rosemary that teaches you how to design with place A genus that looks Mediterranean, smells like the mint family it belongs to, and tells the...

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Loblolly-bay (Gordonia lasianthus): the swamp’s camellia—and a masterclass in place-based design

Woodlanders Field Guide Loblolly-bay (Gordonia lasianthus): the swamp’s camellia—and a masterclass in place-based design A design-forward, research-backed profile for landscape designers, gardeners, and curious plant lovers— with Woodlanders field notes...

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