His Name Lives On in Astilbe, but Georg Arends was so much more
We might think our are gardens are natural and timeless, but that is far from true. Fashion trends in how our gardens look come and go, but so do plants, and most nurseries…
Discover Our World
Get all the latest insight into the world of plants, from experts.
Understand Variegated Plants – How Do They Do That?
One of the biggest differences between the plants we grow in our gardens and the ones we see in nature are the leaves. Go out into the woods or fields, and every plant…
Get to Know the Different Groups of Japanese Maples
Perhaps the most adored of all trees, Japanese maples have an aura around them – a flavor of the exotic, the special, and the desirable. For many gardeners they are their most valued…
Helen Ballard, Queen of the Hellebores
There was once a time when the passing of the seasons was not marked by the return to school or specials on Amazon, but by more traditional activities. Christmas was – and still…
Are the Pests & Diseases on My Plants Serious?
We live in an time when life has become medicalized. Despite living longer and more healthy lives than any human beings who came before us, we are intensely focused on the dangers of…
How the Annabelle Hydrangea Turned Pink
If you live in mild and warmer parts of the country, your go-to hydrangea is probably the mophead, with its flowers of blue or pink. If you live in colder areas, though, where…
You Think You Need Citrus for Vitamin C? Guess Again!
You have to hand it to the Florida Citrus Growers. Back 50 years or more they marketed oranges, and orange juice heavily, promoting them as a source of vitamin C. At a time…
The Mediterranean Garden – Styling and Layout
In this sporadic series on designing gardens we have looked at a variety of different looks or styles you can give your garden. The word ‘style’ tells us that although your garden might…
How to Transplant Established Evergreen Trees
In a perfect world, every plant we put in the ground would be in exactly the right place, and stay there forever. Hah! Back in the real word, despite our best intentions, it…
The Mediterranean Garden – is it for me?
The idea of having a Mediterranean garden has become a big deal – Google it and you will get 152 million hits. Issues like hotter and drier summers are on everyone’s mind, and…
Pruning Young Trees for Future Strength and Long Life – Part 3, Getting the Job Done
This is the third part of an extended blog about the pruning of young trees. Many people just plant a new tree and expect it to develop perfectly all by itself. Sometimes that…
Pruning Young Trees for Future Strength and Long Life – Part 2, Equipment and pruning techniques
This is the second part of an extended blog about the pruning of young trees. Many people just plant a new tree and expect it to develop perfectly all by itself. Sometimes that…
Pruning Young Trees for Future Strength and Long Life – Part 1, The Basics
This is the first part of a three-part blog on tree pruning. Not the big stuff, handling mature trees, but what to do with that young tree you just planted, or maybe you…
How Fast Will My New Plants Grow?
Buying plants for your garden, anything from a load of hedging bushes to a single perennial, always has a little bit of nervousness with it. The newer you are to gardening, the more…
Keep Your Rose Bushes Blooming All Summer
Almost everyone loves roses, and millions are planted each spring by eager gardeners. A lot of them, though, don’t live up to the dream, and after a decent show in spring they sit…
How Much of our Food is Wild? – Almost None
Most people are aware that almost all the meat we eat comes from domesticated animals, which is part of the reason ‘wild’ salmon and game like deer is seen as so special. When…
In Search of Blue Rhododendrons
When a gardener’s mind turns to rhododendrons, they are most likely to picture a shrub with pink, or perhaps red, flowers. That’s because most species and varieties do indeed have flowers in that…
Coral Peonies
When most of us think of peonies, we probably picture big, fluffy blooms in shades of pinks, rich, velvety reds, or pure whites. There is a cluster of varieties, though, that bring something…
Some Evergreen Trees of Japan – Matsu, the pines
If one image instantly says, ‘Japanese Garden’, it is the twisted pine tree. Dominating most gardens, you could make a garden with just one, and nothing else. Trained to resemble a natural tree…
Some Evergreen Trees of Japan – Hinoki, Sawara and Sugu
In this blog, and those that will follow, we are going to explore the conifers (evergreens) that grow in Japan. Not so much to learn more about garden varieties that can be grown…
Where Did the Mophead Hydrangea Come From?
The mophead hydrangea is such a constant feature in gardens of warmer climates, and it has been around for so long, you probably never asked where it first came from. It’s iconic colors…
Growing a Rose from a Cutting
Growing a new rose from a stem of an older one was the traditional way people passed on loved roses to family and friends. It isn’t hard to do, and works for many…
How Are Roses Propagated?
When you first start growing plants in your garden, how they are produced is often of no concern – getting them to grow is always the first priority. It doesn’t take long, though,…
Panicle Hydrangea – the hydrangea for colder zones
If you are new to gardening, hydrangeas can be confusing. Most people recognize the large round heads, usually in pink or blue, or the mophead hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla), so widely seen in summer-gardens…