These days it seems everyone is talking about – and eating – nuts. The peanut – not a nut at all, but a type of bean – is of course central to American culture, but today it is the true nuts that everyone is eating. Taking care of our hearts is a big concern, and many nuts contain monounsaturated fats and antioxidants, both substances that…

So you want to grow some grape vines? Perhaps you are interested in making wine, or perhaps you want to enjoy top-quality grapes for the table, picked right from your garden. Perhaps you like the idea of growing several varieties, so you can do both these things, as well as perhaps make some jelly, or enjoy fresh grape juice. Maybe you just like the romantic…

Protecting newly-planted trees – especially evergreens – in their first winter is a real issue for gardeners who live in cold parts of the country. Every fall and winter it comes up and everyone wants to know the best way to do it. Strangely, that ‘best way’ has been available for many, many years now, but it remains unknown to most gardeners, but widely used…

Crape myrtles have been favorites with southern gardeners for a very long time. Their resistance to heat and drought, combined with vibrant flowers produced over a long period, have made sure of that. But with changes in gardening styles they were increasingly seen as lacking something – colored foliage. The growth in the use of colored foliage in gardens has been enormous in recent decades.…

The layout of your garden is as important as how you decorate inside, but it often doesn’t get the same attention, or budget. Yet the garden is often the main focus of life for months of the year, with barbequing, parties, and just general lazy around outdoors. As well, every estate agent will tell you that an attractive and inviting garden adds dollars to the…

Peaches are such luscious fruits, and so delicious to eat, that it seems hard to believe they are also among the easiest of fruit trees to grow, and ideal for smaller gardens, since several will fruit well when grown alone – none of that need for a pollinator that means growing at least two of everything. They can also be planted at the foot of…