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…
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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…
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 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…
Butterfly Weed & the Monarch Butterfly – an intimate friendship
There are joys in gardening that go beyond the pleasure we find in the beauty of plants – and in succeeding in the challenges of growing them successfully. A large one is the…
Ernst Pagels – Dedicated to Perennials
It is a lucky person who finds there calling in life, and is able to spend a fulfilling and satisfying life doing what they love. Although his name is not widely-known, Ernst Pagels…
Salvia – a Wise Garden Choice
Sage: /seɪdʒ/ noun: an aromatic plant of the genus Salvia, whose greyish-green leaves are used as a culinary herb, native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Used in names of aromatic plants of…
Karl Foerster and The Roots of Perennial Gardening
It’s hard to image a garden without perennial flowers, but once that was how gardens were. With some exceptions, mostly in England in the decades before World War I, gardens were shrubs and…
Get to Know the Asters
At this time of year, the well-planned garden gets a big boost, with the arrival of the brilliant, jewel colors of asters blooming in garden beds or natural areas. Few garden visions are…
10 Fragrant Flowers and Plants to Fill Your Garden with Perfume
10 Fragrant Flowers that Should be in Your Garden Bee Balm – Monarda The whole plant smells of citrus and something else mysterious, while the red flowers brighten summer. Grows well in wet…
Get to Know Russian Sage
Never truly Russian, and until recently not a sage either, Russian Sage is that plant you see in a garden and go, “Wow! What is that?” A striking concoction of silver and blue,…
Which Hosta Plants Grow in Hot Zones?
Hosta are among the most popular of shade plants, and no wonder. With so many varieties, in so many different sizes and leaf colors, you could have a wonderful shade garden using nothing…
Hummingbird Mints – the Perfect Flowering Plants for Dry Gardens
It’s nice to have a sunny garden, but sometimes it can become a miniature Sahara, especially if your soil is sandy and naturally dry. It can be frustrating trying to find plants that…
Catmints – Great Plants for More than Just Cats
If you have ever seen a cat lost in the ecstasy of rolling around in a plant of catmint, you will know just how attractive these plants are to them. You might then…
Coneflowers – Flowers of the Prairies for every Garden
The prairies are deeply embedded in the American psyche, even for people who live a thousand miles from them. Accounts of settlement and Native American hardship can complicate things, but one thing remains…
Daylilies – the Best Summer Flower for Your Garden
The old-fashioned orange daylily, with its tall stems and narrow orange trumpets, has been grown in gardens for many, many, years. It is often seen in old, neglected ones, or growing along roadsides,…
Grow a Flow of Seasonal Color with Perennial Plants
When you first start gardening, one of the most difficult things is to keep your garden interesting all year round. For most of us that means blooms, although of course fruits, fall color…
Chinese Astilbe – Top Choice for Drier Gardens
Perennial plants add an extra dimension of beauty to any garden, and ones that are pest-free, long-blooming and low-maintenance are the best ones of all. Add in weeks and weeks of summer blooming,…
Growing Peonies – the Belles of the Northern Garden
Southern gardeners have their azaleas, magnolias and camellias, and if you garden in the north you might feel deprived. Don’t, because you too have a plant that rivals and even beats those favorites….
What Is a Perennial?
Gardeners throw around a lot of words, from Latin names to specialized botanical terms. Special language has always been used to create private groups of aficionados, making a club for ‘members only’. So…