Designing With Conifers: Personality and Form in the Garden

Many of us have fond childhood memories of running through forests or parks, dwarfed by the large trees that towered overhead. Even as adults, if we are asked to close our eyes and picture a tree, similar images

Put Out the Welcome Mat for Leafcutter Bees in Your Garden

With approximately 4,000 bee species in North America, the opportunities for observing bees in the garden are endless. Leafcutter bees (Megachile) are charismatic bees and commonly appear in urban and suburban g

Great Design Plant: Lonicera Sempervirens

Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) is an adaptable and well-behaved vine native to woodland edges in the eastern U.S. that will grow in any moisture-retentive soil with plenty of sun. Unlike Chinese and

Great Design Plant: Helianthus Petiolaris

Sunflowers can help landscapes focused on attracting pollinating insects and other wildlife through the seasons. The diversity of insects they attract with their pollen and nectar is astounding, and many birds a

10 Top Mid-Atlantic Native Plants

The mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. has a rich diversity of native plants appropriate for use in the residential landscape. The four-season climate allows for distinct seasons, with spring a welcome and noticea

Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Chard

Chard, also called Swiss chard, is a bright star of the fall garden. If you take a look at the leaves of its cousin, the beet, you can see a family resemblance. But unlike beets, chard doesn’t wait for you to no

Great Design Plant: Tsuga Canadensis ‘Bennett’

So often shade gardeners feel shortchanged. Daylilies, roses, geraniums and larkspurs are all out of reach, so gardeners turn to conifers with colorful foliage, great structure and unparalleled texture. As frust

Great Design Plant: Actaea Racemosa

There are so many reasons for eastern U.S. gardeners to grow black cohosh (Actaea racemosa). One of the few summer-blooming plants that grow in shade, it has tall and elegant white candlestick flowers that contr

Great Design Plant: Liatris Aspera

Plant native wildflowers if you want a diversity of butterflies. If you want to attract butterflies during their peak season, from late summer into early fall, plant flowers that bloom during that time. Tall bla

DIY Project: Teacup Planter Pots

During our last house move, heavy-handed movers succeeded in wrecking our coffee table, a bookshelf and a box of dishware. We were left with three surviving cups and saucers and a good excuse to go furniture sho

10 Essential Native Perennials for the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest

This list provides Great Lakes and Upper Midwest gardeners with 10 reliable, adaptable and site-specific perennials. Whether you have heavy clay, loam or sandy soil or are gardening in the shade, there’s somethi

Great Design Plant: Agave Vilmoriniana

While you normally wouldn’t describe a succulent as being graceful, it is one of the first words that comes to mind when you see the curved leaves of octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana). This agave species has a

Designing With Conifers: Layers of Texture for Your Garden

Texture is a component of an exceptional garden, one that is composed of many different layers, offering new discoveries with each visit. We all inherently know what texture is but sometimes have difficulty defi

Great Design Plant: Mertensia Virginica

Of all the early-spring-blooming wildflowers in the mid-Atlantic region, Virginia bluebells is among the most striking. It blankets the woodland floor with sky-blue flowers shortly after breaking ground in the

Edible Plants That Double as Ornamentals

A combination of flowering plants and attractive foliage usually comes to mind when we imagine a beautiful garden. What about the plants we grow for food? From flowering herbs to leafy vegetables, many edible pl

10 Top Grasses for the Central Plains

The benefit of ornamental grasses in a garden cannot be understated. Not only are they a boon to wildlife, but they also contribute to a low-maintenance garden that showcases seasonal design. I’ve selected grass

Top 10 Scented Plants for Your Garden

Scent adds an extra dimension to a garden, turning it into a place where you linger, indulging your senses rather than rushing through to the front door or garden shed. Use plants that flower in different season

Pocket Gardens, Pint-Size Patios and Urban Backyards

Whether you have a sliver of a side yard, a petite patio or a compact urban lot, limited size does not have to mean missing out on lush plantings or cool features — as these 15 creative spaces attest. Creating a

Easygoing Tulip Ideas From a Grand California Garden

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit the Filoli garden, near San Francisco, recently. The sky was blue, the birds were singing, and spring sunshine bathed the immaculate gardens in a soft, warm glow.

Great Design Plant: Aloe ‘Blue Elf’

There are so many different aloes available for the drought-tolerant landscape, but Blue Elf aloe (Aloe ‘Blue Elf’) offers something that other aloes can’t — it thrives in full sun, including areas that receive