Plastic Plants are Taking Over
I was in a store recently and spotted a tray of nice-looking cacti over by the window. I was pretty surprised to find, when I checked them out, that they were made of…
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October in the Garden
In cooler zones the mosquitoes are gone, trees are ablaze with color, and with luck there will be an Indian summer. In warmer areas the warmth may linger, but nights will be cooling,…
Spacing Hedges – Let’s Get it Right
Hedges are important components in just about every garden. In cities and suburbs they give privacy and a calm background to your garden, screening out neighbors, traffic noise, and unsightly views. In rural…
Why Does My Holly Tree Have No Berries?
There is no doubt that holly bushes are super-popular, not just for their dense, glossy foliage, but especially for their bright red berries, that brighten the holiday season. Yet in garden after garden…
America’s Very Own Holly Tree
Nothing says “Christmas” like holly. Those iconic deep-green spiny leaves and clusters of bright-red berries might be featured on almost every greetings-card, but their beauty never tires. In the garden too they are…
Why are So Many Trees Called ‘Cedar’?
You know how it goes – a quick trip to the garden center, real or online, for a few plants. You get there and ask for what you want. Now sometimes it’s no…
Chilling Hours – What They Are and Why They Matter
Gardening, love of good food, and a desire to protect our own and our family’s health have all come together in the biggest gardening trend of the moment – growing food at home….
White Birch is Back, and It’s Borer Proof
Back in the days when throwing chemicals at your garden was the standard way to deal with any problem, from lawn weeds to tree diseases or pests, you used to see many white…
Aronia – Meet a New Healthy Berry That’s Easy to Grow at Home
If you are out front of the latest health trends you may have heard already about the Aronia, or Chokeberry. These small black berries are being widely promoted for their powerful antioxidant content,…
William Penn Barberry – A Beautiful Little-known Shrub
Sometimes the stories of our garden plants are as interesting as the plants themselves and knowing them adds to the pleasure of growing them. Just like getting to know your neighbors enriches your…
How to Grow Perfect Rhododendrons and Azaleas
Almostall gardeners agree that there is nothing so beautiful as a garden with rhododendrons and azaleas growing in it. But often the first attempts are disappointing, and these plants are often relegated to…
Miniature Roses Come to Town
Most gardeners have some idea of the main groups of rose – hybrid teas, floribunda, climbing roses, and so on – even if with new varieties those old borders have become a little…
June in the Garden
It is not for nothing that ‘June is Bustin’ Out All Over’ was such a hit song. After all the uncertainties of spring, by now the garden is really moving, and in many…
Growing Roses in Planters and Pots
Roses and summer go together perfectly, and the enduring beauty of these bushes makes them always desirable. They are mostly grown out in the garden, but they also make great container plants, to…
Smoke Trees for Smaller Gardens
Tough, vigorous and beautiful, the Smoke Tree – Cotinus coggygria – has been a reliable garden shrub for a very long time. Whether you go for the original green-leaf version, or the very…
Meet the Maidens – Supremely Beautiful Grasses for All Gardens
Ornamental grasses are hugely popular, but also avoided by some gardeners, who probably have memories of one invasive grass or another that they planted – and came to regret. It is true that…
May in the Garden
Wow, spring is really here! In warmer zones it’s almost summer, but everywhere there are flowers to enjoy, and it’s a great time to be outside, before the full heat of summer arrives….
Understanding Organic Material
In the extended and detailed descriptions of our plants, which make the Tree Center unique, we provide more background information and accurate advice than any other on-line nursery. In there you will often…
Fairy Tale Lilacs make Garden Dreams Come True
Plant breeders are dreamers – they dream of plants that will be closer to our ideals, and they want to give us beautiful plants to fill our own garden dreams. Northern gardeners dream…
Double-Acts – Flowering Shrubs with Good Fall Color
Creating a rich and fulfilling garden can be tricky and it takes some thought and planning. There is a basic principle, though, that can really help you build a garden that is interesting…
April in the Garden
By April, wherever in the country you live, spring has arrived in some form. In the north it is still tentative, and there may even be persistent patches of snow lying in deep,…
Buying Garden Plants Online – a How-to Guide
Wow have things changed, and in ways we never could have imagined. We don’t know when it is going to change back – or if it ever will be the same again. Preserving…
March in the Garden
What happens in your garden in March depends on where you live. In colder zones the answer will probably be, “Broken promises,” with warmer, sunny days that turn cold at night and then…
Should I Remove That Tree?
Everyone loves trees, and we love even more older trees, because we know how long it takes for a tree to grow to maturity. That makes it difficult for us to take down…