So you think you’re familiar with marigolds and zinnias? Well, it’s time to take another look, I think, as I have been longingly in the seed list from Oregon-based Peace Seedlings. Among their offerings are multi-toned zinnias in shades you won’t… Read More ›
It’s hard to think of a brighter botanical bright spot than the one that Coleus creates—whether in a container design, or planted in a garden bed. And it’s hard to think of a more Coleus-filled place than Rosy Dawn Gardens,… Read More ›
I can almost taste it now: the flavors of the first spring crops, whether homegrown, or from your CSA share, or even ethically foraged…with the promise of a whole growing season of the freshest, tastiest produce to come. It’s the… Read More ›
More isn’t always better, of course, but in the case of the gardens profiled in the new book “Garden to the Max,” it definitely is, whether more color, more texture, more drama or all of the above, and then some,… Read More ›
Though the calendar says that spring started on March 20, the many clues that nature offers to those who watch and listen add up to a more complex and layered unfolding over time. Inspired by a new book called “Phenology,”… Read More ›
Anyone who has heard of or even better visited Chanticleer Garden in Pennsylvania knows that it is home to some of the country’s most exceptional examples of horticultural creativity and innovation. A multi-year biodiversity survey of the Chanticleer property has… Read More ›
We’ve all heard about what plants and other features figure into making a garden for the birds, or a pollinator garden … but what about a frog garden? I’m crazy about frogs and would like to think my place is… Read More ›
If another houseplant dropped all its leaves for several months each year, you’d think you killed it. But with some of Ken Druse’s and my favorite indoor companions, from Boweia to Jatropha and more, a regular dormant period is just… Read More ›
The sight of Eastern bluebirds rates high on my happiness scale, so I say bring them on. But what makes a place look like inviting habitat to these charismatic birds, encouraging them to maybe stick around during breeding season? And… Read More ›
One of the tallest perennials in my garden is New York ironweed, Vernonia noveboracensis, but basically my knowledge of the genus starts and ends there. Or at least it did until just recently, when Mt. Cuba Center, the renown native… Read More ›