Create extravagantly lush shady spaces with climbing plants and flowering vines. It is the season for lounging in the shade! Increase your relief by growing shade-loving climbers and blooming vines. …
A flower gardener’s dream! The colorful impact of annual bedding plants with the reliable longevity of perennials. Can it be done? Yes! Pick fast-growing perennials in the fastest seed-to-bloom varieties. …
Summer is the season of alfresco dining, enjoying the heat and the sunshine while sharing a meal with the people you care about. Few things could ruin that wonderful image, …
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 …
We love Foxgloves for their towers of flowers for weeks on end through late spring and early summer. Spotted, speckled, and dazzling varieties of Foxgloves are naturally biennial. Foxgloves grow …
Plants that share beauty and interest year-round maximize precious garden real estate. Perennials, trees, shrubs, and even annuals that look stunning year-round give the best bang for your gardening buck. …
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.” …
Many of us have that one stubborn spot in the garden that refuses to drain well. After the rain, water collects there are just doesn’t seem to dissipate, making it …
The common Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) has skyward stems smothered in giant 5-inch hibiscus-like blossoms that carry a whimsical zeal of times past. Beyond the impressive dramatic height of 5 to …
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 …
If you’re anything like me, walking into a garden center is a dangerous affair for your bank account. Even though plants aren’t particularly pricey in the larger scheme of things, …
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 …
The secrets to fantastical towers of cascading tubular bell-shaped foxgloves are not as mystical as they may appear. These natives of Europe, Asia, and North Africa are mostly biennials, meaning …
One of the fascinating things about begonias is that once you decide that growing them is a good idea, you’ll start noticing them everywhere. With over two thousand known species …
The first few times I saw real anemones, they were elegantly tucked into bridal bouquets. With their slender stems and marshmallow-like blooms, anemones looked as fragile as they did elegant. …
Enchanted gardens with phenomenal lilac fragrance in spring. What better way to break the flower fast of winter? Knowing how and when to prune your lilacs will give you brilliant …
When I published this post about fertilizing peonies, I already knew I was going to write about some of the reasons why some peonies don’t bloom. But my decision was …
Hummingbirds are a celebration of environmental stewardship with every iridescent feather. Plants that provide flower nectar, as well as safe perching and nesting spots are surefire ways to attract hummingbirds …
A lavender tree is pure magic, seemingly straight out of a fairy tale! Lavender, being a woody perennial, can be pruned and shaped into a tree. This is known as …
Pruning is one of those tasks that put fear into many gardeners. But with knowledge of how to do it (and more importantly, when), it doesn’t have to be difficult. …
Do you have a delightful dream of slipping away a sunny afternoon in your very own rose room? It is easier than you may think to surround yourself with a …
This North American native flowering herb is a must-have in the wildlife garden, cottage garden, herb garden, and veggie garden. For full summer splendor, Bee Balm loves rich, moist soil …
In a gardening class I once took, the instructor compared the pruning of plants to cutting our hair. You can’t just let your hair grow forever, and at some point, …
When asked whether she loved or hated peonies, one of my gardening friends (who had been growing peonies for a couple of decades) replied simply “yes.” And it made perfect …