Seven Secrets to a Successful Shade Garden
Karen People often tell me that they love to garden but that the trees on their lot create so much shade they can’t do much. I usually smile sympathetically and listen…
Plant Profile: Japanese Roof Iris (Iris tectorum)
As a plant collector rather than a garden designer I adore plants that are a bit out of the ordinary and if they come with a good history or story,…
Ten Tips for Successful Tomatoes
Planting tomato seedlings, your own or purchased, is a good opportunity for getting your tomatoes off to a good start. We all want the earliest and sweetest tomatoes but we…
How to Choose Snap Beans for the Vegetable Garden
Green beans, string beans, and snap beans all refer to the same popular bean that is commonly grown in home gardens. French green beans, called Haricot Vert, are thin, crisp…
Plant Profile: Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis)
Lily of the valley is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial native to the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere and grows best where summers are warm but not hot. Each plant…
Plant Profile: Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea)
Every spring when I start puttering around in my secret garden I look for the emergence of my cinnamon fern. After 4 to 5 weeks of looking in vain I…
Seven Points to Ponder When Selecting Tomato Plants
As the weather becomes warm and the soil temperature rises, I begin to consider what tomatoes I am going to grow during the summer. Tomatoes are my favorite vegetable crop…
Plant Profile: Wisteria spp.
Wisteria is either your pride and joy or the bane of your existence depending on whether or not it blooms each spring. Nothing is more romantic than long racemes of…
Determine Your Spring Flower IQ
Here is a little quiz on the plants that bloom in the Spring. All the plants on the quiz have been the subject of a Plant Profile on this site.…
Plant Profile: Fothergill (Fothergill gardenii)
Native to moist areas of Southeast US, this compact deciduous shrub is a member of the witch hazel family, Hamamelidaceae, that also includes Persian ironwood, and loropetalum. Growing up to…