Ornamental Gardening

You know how, when you’re learning a foreign language, there’s a list of words and expressions that you start with first. You learn to say “hello” and “thank you” and …

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 …

Thanks to their toughness and beauty, daylilies have been some of the most popular flowers in North American gardens for centuries. Although the ubiquitous orange “ditch lily” (Hemerocallis fulva) found …

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 …

The Anthurium genus is home to many species of colorful tropical plants in the arum family (Araceae). In fact, it is the largest genus within this family, with around 1 000 …

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 …

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 …

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. …

Monstera adansonii, often called Swiss Cheese plant or Monkey Mask plant, is a popular tropical houseplant. Its main feature is its unique and attractive foliage and its ability to climb …

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 …

Under the right conditions, bougainvillea can grow out of control. The frequent pruning they require throughout the growing season provides many opportunities to propagate bougainvillea from cuttings to grow additional …

There comes a time in the life of most homeowners when the question comes up of what to plant along a property line or fence. Maybe you’re ready to plan …

The swoon-worthy willow tree has long been a symbol of romance, but did you know that there are more than 350 different varieties of these gorgeous deciduous trees? A particular …

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 …

Strolling through local garden centers as the leaves begin to change, there is rarely a fall basket without a chrysanthemum playing peekaboo in a color display of orange and yellows.  …

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 … …

Suppose you’re well on your way to creating a garden oasis with blooming flowers, pollinator-friendly groundcover, and hardy vegetables. In that case, you may have a sturdy Oak or swaying …

As summer is winding down, I’m once again thinking about container gardening. With a steady supply of flowers, berries, herbs and tomatoes throughout the summer months, I must admit I …