Mickey Gast

It’s rare for me to dethrone my garden sweethearts. A couple of summers ago, I was telling you how blanket flower (Gaillardia) is THE plant to get if you want …

If there’s a plant that goes well with everything, it’s Verbena bonariensis. And if you don’t know what plant I’m talking about, that’s precisely the point. Verbena bonariensis (also known …

A few years ago, one of my dear friends sent me this stunning book on peonies (written by Jane Eastoe and gorgeously photographed by Georgianna Lane) for my birthday. We’ve …

Baby, it’s cold outside!  How cold? you ask. So cold that my rhododendrons have fainted. As I was looking outside the window of my home office on a particularly frigid …

One lingering side-effect of my first career as an EFL teacher is the constant nerding out over words. Or perhaps it was what pushed me into teaching languages in the …

You know that week between Christmas and New Year’s when it feels like time is dilating and contracting at the same time?  When you want to do something but you …

Every time I write about black-eyed Susans, I make it a point to mention how we shouldn’t prune these perennials in the fall. Not only do they look pretty covered …

I wonder if our readers can answer a quick pop quiz. Can you name an annual ornamental plant that:  Did you answer “marigolds”? Because if you did, you’re absolutely right.  …

Earlier this week, an email landed in my inbox that had me rolling my eyes in exasperation and exclaiming out loud This again? Haven’t I just done this?  No, it …

I first became aware of the necessity of pruning perennials in the summer when I came back from an early-July vacation to a wild garden that was quickly getting out …

When people hear that I spend my free time gardening and my work days writing about gardening, they assume I must have the perfect garden. This couldn’t be further from …

Did you know that this is the year of the hosta? I didn’t just make that up. The National Garden Bureau (NGB) declared hosta “perennial of the year” in an …

I usually draw inspiration for my articles from whatever is happening in my garden. But for this one, it’s different.  What inspired this article was an unfortunate piece of advice …

When it comes to pruning magnolias, my first piece of advice would be to ask yourself this question: Do I really NEED to?  Not “Do I want to?”  Or “Should …

It’s time to prune my buddleia. Obviously, I want to document this gardening job for our readers as I’m doing it. But I have to admit that I get a …

Ask any of my friends, and they’ll tell you how much I like to encourage plant ownership. But I don’t believe in buying just any houseplant though. There is such …

I remember first seeing a thick carpet of winter aconites while we were visiting a botanical garden a few years ago. Yes, we’re the kind of people who visit botanical …

How late is it too late to write a geranium fall care guide? Usually, if a care guide comes late in the season, it’s because I procrastinate a great deal. …

Planting tulip bulbs is one of those garden jobs that I would rather skip. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love having tulips blooming all over my garden in spring. …

I often feel the need to defend growing annuals whenever the topic comes up in conversation. Most of the ornamentals in my garden are perennial, but there are always some …

You’d think that by this time in the year, I’ve already exhausted the most common methods of plant propagation. I’ve already written guides about propagating by seed starting, taking cuttings …

Mistakes in gardening are like aphids. They may ruin your day temporarily, but as long as you aren’t bothered too much, the problem will solve itself. I’ve come to accept …

I sometimes worry when I notice that the articles in which I confess some of my gardening mistakes are more popular than the ones in which I explain how to …

If I had to choose the gardening philosophy closest to my lazy gardener’s heart, it would have to be “live and let live.” Or rather “live and let die … …