How to Plan Your Edible Garden

Whether you’re starting a new garden or returning to a well-established one, planning is essential for a successful and fun experience. To give your garden the best chance to thrive, take time to get organized a

Backyard Birds: Northern Cardinals in the Snow, and Other Red Birds

A bright red flash in a frosty white woods. The quiet of this soft, snowy morning is cheerfully pierced with the clear, vibrant whistle of a northern cardinal. The unmistakable song of this colorful year-round r

Great Design Plant: Acacia Stenophylla

It’s easy to see where shoestring acacia (Acacia stenophylla) gets its name once you notice its long, skinny leaves. The tree’s attractive weeping growth habit and columnar shape make it a great choice for narro

Great Design Plants: Rhus Trilobata

Skunkbush sumac (Rhus trilobata), a durable sumac native to the western U.S., stars in late winter and early spring. Tight clusters of tiny sweet-scented flowers open before those of most other plants, providing

How to Create a Cottage-Style Garden

You don’t need a quaint old cottage to create a cottage-style garden. Just pack a lot into the borders by blending old-fashioned flowers, useful herbs and vegetables, climbers, self-seeding annuals, and producti

What Kind of Roses Should You Grow?

Our love affair with roses often begins as young children, when we discover their lovely fragrance and how the gift of a single rose brings joy to the receiver. Watching the tightly wrapped petals of a rosebud

10 Spring Wildflowers for the Central Plains

In the tallgrass and mixed-grass prairies, a large number of mid- to late-spring-blooming native wildflowers provide visual interest long into winter, while being incredibly drought-tolerant and a boon to early-

Attract Thynnid Wasps With Summer-Flowering Native Plants

Like many other types of wasps, thynnid wasps visit flowers as adults to glean nourishment from nectar for their prey-hunting activities. However, thynnid wasps are parasitic, which means that they don’t build o

Spring Citrus Care Reaps Months of Sweet Rewards

For gardeners in warm-winter regions, trees laden with brightly colored citrus have a prominent place in the yard. While much of the garden may be dormant this time of year, late winter and early spring are bus

Entice Eastern Tiger Swallowtails With Summer Flowers

It’s hard to miss Eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies fluttering through your garden. These large and charismatic flower visitors are common from late spring through early fall, alighting on a variety of plant

What Prairies Teach Us About Garden Design

As a garden designer in the Great Plains, I always take my inspiration from moments out in the wild. Near town we have several never-plowed prairies that show me delightful new plant combinations and highlight w

Simple Pleasures: Savor the First Spring Day in the Garden

Is there anything better than that first spring day when the weather finally feels warm enough to really spend time outdoors? Celebrate spring with a full day spent puttering in the garden, tending to chores, sp

Get the Dirt on Your Garden’s Soil

Learning what will grow best in your yard starts with understanding your soil. Soil is the foundation of the garden and a key component of “right plant, right place.” We’ll walk through some of the simplest test

Great Design Plant: Fragrant Trachelospermum Jasminoides

The fragrant white flowers of confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) perfume the air from spring into early summer, while its glossy, dark green foliage provides an attractive backdrop. Whether traine

Why, When and How to Plant a Tree

Trees are vital to our landscape, providing beauty and welcome shade. They also offer environmental benefits, such as cleaning the air and reducing energy costs when placed near our homes. Many trees have other

Do You Have This Invasive Plant in Your Yard?

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is one of the most invasive herbaceous plants in woodlands of the Midwest, Great Lakes region, Northeast and mid-Atlantic states and is spreading. It thrives in the shade of d

Native Plants 101

You’ve probably heard about native plants, but what are they? Where do they grow? What’s the hoopla about supporting wildlife like bees and butterflies, and following a low-maintenance schedule? Trust me, I know

Native Plants Bring 10 Southern California Front-Yard Gardens to Life

Over the course of two days, April 2 and 3, 2016, visitors will have the opportunity to explore 41 gardens throughout Los Angeles County that are opening their gates for the Theodore Payne Foundation’s annual Na

Welcome Edibles Into the Front Yard for Fresh Food and More

Edible gardens are traditionally backyard affairs. To some people, vegetables don’t have the elegance of flowers and shrubs. Well, to each their own. There are plenty of reasons why you might want to plant front

Spring Gardens Are Blooming — Here’s What to Do in April

Colder climates may still be shrugging off winter, but most gardeners are excited to be back to work by April. Dry summers in California and the American Southwest call for drought-tolerant plantings and water-w