Why We Stake Trees
Planting a tree is always a great moment – most trees have longer lives than we do, and although a newly-planted tree will be a beautiful addition to our gardens after just a…
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Meet the True Cedars – the Genus Cedrus
Across most of the country, you will see, and probably have in your garden, cedar trees. The name ‘cedar’ was given by the early settlers to several tall evergreen trees they found in…
Gardening with Ornamental Grasses
It has not been all that many years since grass had only one place in the garden – green and mowed weekly on the lawn. It took some adventurous growers and garden designers…
Groundcover Plants for Shady Places
Shady parts of the garden are often welcome in the summer, as cool refuges from the heat. But most plants don’t find them so welcoming. When we put in a new garden it…
Xeric Gardening – 5 Tips for Using Less Water
There is a big push these days to use less water on our gardens. Periods of drought, limitations on city water supplies, concerns about long-term freshwater availability, and increased costs to home-owners –…
Get the Most from Your Mulch
New gardeners quickly hear about this thing called ‘mulch’, but often all that hear is, ‘mulch regularly’, or ‘use mulch for weed control’ – without getting any real idea of what it is,…
Diseases of Pine Trees
Planting a tree is an action full of hope. We hope that our tree will grow and flourish, living out its life – which will certainly be decades, and perhaps even a hundred…
Cold Hardy Holly Bushes
Holly is one of the most popular broad-leaf evergreens. It’s deep-green glossy leaves look great in the garden all year round, and the winter bonus of bright red berries really brings color and…
Give Them Room! Spacing Trees Correctly
A drive around any older neighborhood will quickly show you giant trees right up against houses, blocking windows, damaging foundations and drains, and making rooms dark and gloomy. Bad decisions about planting distances…
New & Exciting Panicle Hydrangeas
If you have gardened in colder parts of the country for a long time, you will remember the ubiquitous PG Hydrangea, still seen in many gardens. It’s a standard shrub for later flowering…
Agave & Yucca – Cool Plants for Hot Places
Wherever you garden, even in cooler climate zones, you can have hot, dry areas in your garden. Those places that bask in the sun all day, perhaps with sandy or rocky soil that…
It’s Plant a Pine Tree Time
Spring is the big season in the garden, and this is when we all go out and look at our gardens, to see what we can grow that will make them more beautiful….
Grow Living Fossil Trees in Your Garden
Most of us grow plants in our gardens simply for their beauty, and that surely is the best reason of all. But many plants also have a story to tell, perhaps of how…
7 Top Plants for Japanese Gardens
Japanese and Asian-themed gardens are amazingly popular – and no wonder. They combine beauty with serenity, and by using just a few carefully chosen plants they create low-maintenance gardens, turning a few plants…
Native Shrubs from Across America
The single biggest trend in gardening over the last couple of decades has been the growing of native plants. An interest in the environment, concerns about the spread of alien species – these…
The World of Japanese Maples
Spring brings life back to our deciduous trees, and the delicate unfolding leaves are beautiful, no matter what the tree. But the most beautiful of all are undoubtedly the new leaves of Japanese…
An Update for the PG Hydrangea
Travel in late summer through the colder states, especially in the north-east, and everywhere – in parks, private gardens, and even cemeteries – you will see a bush with large white flower heads,…
Native Trees from the Four Corners of the Country
A big trend in gardening is growing native plants. This began with wildflowers, but it has spread to trees and shrubs too, especially with all the alarming stories of invasive species escaping gardens…
Jump-start Spring with These 5 Early-blooming Shrubs
Especially in colder parts of the country, it can be a long wait for spring. When the snow begins to melt, and the days lengthen, we can become impatient to see some signs…
5 Steps to the Best Garden Beds Ever
Everyone knows that in real estate the secret is ‘location, location, location’, but many gardeners don’t realize that the secret of good gardens is ‘soil, soil, soil’. That doesn’t mean you have to…
Spring is Coming – 5 Steps to Get Your Garden Ready
After the cold, dreary months of winter, spring has a habit of jumping out at us, and taking us by surprise. We may be grateful to see her (or him), but we are…
Pollinate Your Citrus Trees for a Bumper Crop
Growing oranges, lemons, limes or other citrus fruits in pots is a popular activity. Planting them in a container means you can grow your own citrus, no matter where you live. They spend…
Useful Tips for Pruning Fruit Trees
As winter moves hesitantly into spring, and the worst weather has passed in your area, its time to turn your thoughts to preparing the garden for another season. If you are lucky enough…
5 Steps to Help Your Indoor Plants Through Winter
Winter can be a drain on us all. Short days, heavy cloud, rain and snow – these all work to bring us down, even though we have a warm, dry home. The same…