7 Tools to Make Bulb Planting a Breeze (+ One You Don’t Need)
We are elbow-deep in the bulb-planting season and my friends are starting to doubt my honesty when I say “sorry, I can’t this weekend; I’m planting bulbs.” But that’s October …
We are elbow-deep in the bulb-planting season and my friends are starting to doubt my honesty when I say “sorry, I can’t this weekend; I’m planting bulbs.” But that’s October …
The thrill I get when browsing online bulb catalogs is the closest feeling I’ll ever get to that of stepping into a candy shop when I was a child. Then, …
An unexpectedly popular plant care series that we ran on Blooming Backyard was the one covering reasons why beloved plants don’t bloom. I say “unexpectedly” not because our readers were …
When I first got the gardening bug, I used to despair over the end of the warm summer season. Fall, in spite of its color and richness, brought a bittersweet …
If there’s ever a plant that embodies the feeling of hopefulness, it’s the tulip. As a history buff, I’m fascinated by how the Dutch Tulip Mania unfolded in the seventeenth …
When I was growing up, my relatives and acquaintances who had a garden grew red tulips. Maybe yellow. Occasionally white. I would spend hours browsing through gardening catalogs that hardly had …
I absolutely love my star jasmine. What’s not to love? It stays green all winter long, blooms for weeks at a time and smells divine. I’ve been letting it take …
When I moved into my current home, I became the accidental step-parent of a majestic Camellia japonica bush. The woman who was moving out estimated the camellia was about seven …
If you prefer more blooms than foliage, a showy display of flowers that lasts for weeks, and a vine that doesn’t destroy the structures that it climbs on, then clematis …
Daylilies (Hemerocallis) have been working hard for our gardens all summer long, putting out stunning displays of blooms day after day. But with the advent of fall, when temperatures start …
Preparing roses for the winter season during fall can be a tedious job, so it’s no wonder that it sometimes becomes the object of procrastination even for experienced gardeners. After …
Over the past decade, the advice on the best time to cut back perennials has been noticeably shifting. Thankfully, our increased awareness of the fact that we need to protect …
Ever since its release in 1988, the children’s book Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert has been one of the favorite means for green-thumbed parents to instill a love of …
Dahlias are the darlings of the flower garden and for good reason. They put out gorgeous boisterous blooms every year, but there sure is a price to pay in exchange …
As a gardener, growing annual geraniums feels very much like I’m gaming the system. I get a low-maintenance plant with attractive foliage and blooms that last for almost three full …
When we published the article on low-maintenance lawn alternatives on Blooming Backyard, we had a great response from our online community on Facebook. It warms my heart to know that …
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 …
If you’ve never had a plant break your heart, try growing a gardenia! Gardenias blooms are the work of a fairy tale, if that fairy tale is Goldilocks and the …
I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who actually bought irises to plant in their garden, like you would roses or rhododendrons. Come to think of it, every iris grower …
A crowded patch of irises is the most common reason for a disappointing show of flowers. If you’ve experienced a disappointing flush of iris blooms this spring, then it’s probably …
It’s been sixteen years since Heather Jo Flores published the book Food Not Lawns, and the #nolawn revolution is picking up pace faster than you can say “No Mow May.” …
I don’t know about you, but I find it physically impossible to walk past dahlia patches and not stop and admire them. I’ve been known to travel far and wide …
I’m not in the habit of checking the Guinness World Records website before I write a gardening article, but when my research uncovered that the world of competitive gardening is …
With their deep green glossy leaves and blooms that resemble cotton candy, rhododendrons never fail to add a good dose of curb appeal to gardens and public spaces alike. So …