Great Design Plant: Eurybia Macrophylla Fills a Void

Bigleaf aster (Eurybia macrophylla) is an extremely adaptable and reliable native plant that thrives in partial shade and average soil. Common throughout the deciduous woods around the Great Lakes, it can form s

These Aren’t Your Grandparents’ Junipers

Let’s take a journey back to our favorite childhood memories. For many of us, those memories include playing hide-and-seek or kick the can with the neighborhood kids on sultry summer or crisp autumn nights. Inev

Great Design Plant: Hibiscus Moscheutos

Crimsoneyed rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos) has a large native range in the southern and eastern United States and parts of the Midwest. It’s a prolific bloomer throughout the summer, with large, sugar-white pe

Great Design Plant: Echinocactus Grusonii

At first glance, golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) looks like a green ball covered in yellow fuzz. Its round shape and yellow spines add a touch of warm color to the arid landscape. This cactus is ex

6 Splendid Blue-Flowering Bulbs

In much of the U.S., from now until the ground freezes, it’s time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. Tulips and daffodils are the most popular. Between the two the flowers cover the color spectrum from pure white

Great Design Plant: Serenoa Repens

Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is a resilient, drought-tolerant palm native to the coastal plain of the southeastern United States, from South Carolina to eastern Texas. Associated with pine flatwoods and scrub f

Winter Gardening: Ideas for a Dream Potting Room

Winter can be a tough time for gardeners in cold climates. As the ground freezes, we start to get antsy for the days when we can stick our hands in some soil. Potting rooms are great for staying occupied until s

Grow a Beautiful Fall Garden in a Pot

I don’t know about you, but where I live (USDA zone 6) it’s been a long, hot, dry summer. With triple-digit temperatures for most of the summer, my containers look worse for the wear. Im starting to dream of coo

Great Design Plant: Cedrus Atlantica ‘Glauca’

There are certain trees that just seem to have soul. Conifers in particular, with their unique and unusual shapes and time-tested strength, seem to have personalities just as strong as their human counterparts.

Great Design Plant: Eutrochium Maculatum

I don’t remember how I got hooked on Spotted Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium maculatum) — maybe a friend hustled it to me at a bar or I gave in to peer pressure at some party. I know I’m not the only one who’s found th

Great Design Plant: Chasmanthium Latifolium

Inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) is one of the showiest native grasses, with its elegant bamboo-like wide leaves that drape over narrow green stems. With a large native range, including the U.S. Southea

Celebrate Eastern Oaks for Wildlife, Longevity, and Seasonal Interest

Surely no tree captures our imagination more than an oak. Often living for hundreds of years, oaks support a diversity of life above and below the ground, a rhizosphere community, where a symbiotic relationship

Great Design Plant: Dicentra Eximia Brightens Shady Gardens

Wild bleeding heart (Dicentra eximia) was the first plant that I put in when I began using native plants in my home landscape. Breaking soil in early April, it is one of the longest-blooming eastern North Americ

Great Design Plant: Staphylea Trifolia Shines in the Shade

The delicate branches of American bladdernut (Staphylea trifolia) are covered with clusters of nodding white flowers in spring. This underutilized, shade-tolerant, native shrub (small tree) is ideal for woodland

Great Design Plant: Convolvulus Cneorum

The silvery foliage and white flowers of bush morning glory (Convolvulus cneorum) make it is easy to see the benefits of adding it to the landscape. Not to be confused with invasive bindweed (Convolvulus arvensi

7 Container Plantings to Bring Winter Gardens to Life

Winter can be bland at the best of times. While the structure plants of your garden can usually hold interest all year, containers that punctuate key areas of the space in the summer can look pretty tired once w

10 Top Native Plants for the U.S. Southeast

Southern gardens may be the envy of gardeners in other climates because of the ample rainfall and extended growing season. But gardening in the U.S. South comes with the challenges of prolonged heat and maximum

Great Design Plant: Geum Triflorum

If you like troll dolls, I have a similar-looking plant for you. While prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) is nothing like a troll — it doesn’t keep asking you out when you clearly aren’t interested — it will keep o

Great Design Plant: Annual Phacelias

Phacelias start their springtime display by uncoiling their curved racemes with flowers of blue, mauve, purple or lavender. As their eye-catching, bell-shaped flowers open, these annuals call pollinators for a y

Great Design Plant: Chamaecyparis Nootkatensis

Conifers are great additions to any garden where they will grow. They introduce elegance and structure to the landscape. When flowering perennials are done and have disappeared for the season, these stalwart wor