The Chinese Money Plant – Pass it On
Most of us tend to hang on to our money, but when it comes to plants, we’re different. People love to pass on plants a friend admires, and that is how the popular…
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Get all the latest insight into the world of plants, from experts.
Soil Basics for Gardeners
If you are new to gardening, it won’t take long looking at how to grow plants before you meet soil. Perhaps you have already been into your new garden and tried to dig…
Everything you need to know about Japanese Cedar – Cryptomeria
Evergreens are among the most important plants in any garden. They bring a look of permanence and structure, with forms that are with us every day of the year. The garden will still…
Why Do the Same Plants Sometimes Have Different Names?
One of the most confusing things to ordinary gardeners is the names of plants. It can be difficult to choose a plant when you find it listed with different names, making you think…
Get to Know Snake Plants – Sansevieria
If you like having plants around the house, but don’t have the proverbial ‘green thumb’, then it’s time to grow a snake plant or two. Talk about indestructible – these plants should probably…
Mutiny on the Bounty Might Never have Happened – the Astounding Story of Breadfruit
The stories of how so many of our garden and food plants were found, and arrived, might sound like dry, boring history – but it isn’t. the incredible tales of explorers bent on…
What To Do When You Can’t Water Your Garden
With drought and heat everywhere, many gardens are suffering. Towns are restricting or banning watering with hoses or irrigation, and suddenly gardeners find themselves in a new world. It is very likely that…
Grow Your Own Avocados – (but not from a stone)
Once upon a time, avocados were an exotic, rare fruit, perhaps appearing in that Tex-Mex staple, guacamole, as a dip with beer, but otherwise hardly seen at all. How things have changed. Today…
All About Hybrid Philodendrons
In this in-depth look at the important houseplant, Philodendron, we started in an earlier blog post by learning more about their amazing biology – where they come from, and where and how they…
How to Grow Philodendrons
So you bought a Philodendron, or are thinking about buying one, and you want to know how to grow it. The good news is that these houseplants are among the easiest to grow,…
Get To Know Philodendrons
In the world of houseplants, Philodendrons are big. Not just in size, although many are, but in popularity. No wonder – these plants are mostly easy to grow, and come in a wide…
Grow Exciting Prayer Plants – Calathea
In a previous blog post we took a look at the secrets of growing those popular and gorgeous houseplants called Prayer Plants, or Calathea. In this post we are going to take a…
Calathea – The Answer to Your Houseplant Prayers
Once you get growing with houseplants, and have mastered those old indestructibles, like snake plants, Swiss cheese and spider plants, it’s natural to start looking for more. I bet you have often dreamed…
The Pine Trees of America #4
PART 4 – THE 2-NEEDLE PINES OF AMERICA In this series of blogs we are taking a deeper look at our native pine trees, both in the wild and in our gardens. In…
The Pine Trees of America #3
PART 3, THE 3-NEEDLE PINES OF AMERICA In this series of blogs we are taking a deeper look at our native pine trees, both in the wild and in our gardens. In the…
The Pine Trees of America #2
PART 2, THE 5-NEEDLE PINES OF AMERICA In the first part of this look at our native Pines, we talked about how to identify pine trees with a reasonable degree of accuracy. In…
The Pine Trees of America #1
PART 1, IDENTIFICATION Pine Trees are everywhere, in city and country, and their distinctive long needles make them a tree that is almost as widely recognized as maple. As garden trees, pines have…
Coral Bells, Foam Flowers and Foamy Bells
Once upon a time, boys and girls, Coral Bells were simple plants with marbled leaves and sprays of tiny bright coral-pink flowers on tall stems that fluttered in the breeze. Sometimes you saw…
Twining Plants – Which Way Do They Twine?
Once you start to look a little more closely at plants, and work with them in your garden, you start to notice all sorts of curious things. One that has always attracted a…
Sweet or Sour? What are the different kinds of cherries?
Growing fruit in your own garden is always a thrill, but it does take some effort – more than just picking up a tree at random and planting it. On our site we…
Flower Your Christmas Cactus – Guaranteed!
The Christmas Cactus is also called Holiday Cactus and Thanksgiving Cactus. It’s a familiar sight in the holiday season and through the early part of each year. The unique flowers have whorls of…
How To Prune Panicle Hydrangeas – Hydrangea paniculata
Hydrangeas are among the very best of shrubs for late blooming. Not only do they flower when most other shrubs have finished for the season, but they stay in bloom for weeks and…
Tired of Boring Hedges? – here are some great ideas.
Most gardeners love hedges – formal or informal, they make the perfect background to a garden, defining it’s space, giving privacy and showing off your plants against a neutral background. But why is…
Using Organic Material When Planting Trees & Shrubs
Back when I was a student of horticulture, the use of synthetic chemicals for gardening was widespread. Since then most home gardeners have moved away from them, and for many today they are…