No-Regret Plants: 5 Questions Smart Shoppers Ask

Fall is an ideal season for planting and establishing many kinds of plants, especially deciduous trees and shrubs, perennial flowers and ornamental grasses. Buying plants when theyre for sale at a reduced price

6 Dependable Ground Covers for Warm Climates

Gardening in warm regions comes with a whole set of challenges: hot summers, dry shade, heavy rains, droughts and soils ranging from pure sand to impenetrable clay and soggy muck. But believe it or not, theres b

8 Materials for Raised Garden Beds

The allure of raised garden beds is not new, and although they are impressive focal points, their origins are much more practical than aesthetic. Raised beds were initially created to deal with problems like poo

California Gardeners September Checklist

Its pretty safe to say that fall, more than any other season, is what distinguishes California gardening from anywhere else. Notice Im not talking about the weather. In much of the U.S. and around the world, Sep

Southwest Gardeners September Checklist

Summers almost over and temperatures are beginning to cool, so its time for desert gardeners to venture outdoors and dress up their landscape with new trees, shrubs and succulents. Fruits and vegetables growin

Northeast Gardeners September Checklist

September is my favorite time of year without a doubt. Gardens everywhere have matured and are spilling out onto sidewalks and over fences, and are generally looking very lush and abundant with eye-popping annua

7 Ecofriendly Gardening Ideas That Also Cut Chore Time

Something miraculous happened to me one day in my backyard: I suddenly got tired, stopped working, made some lemonade and sat on a chair staring at the garden for over an hour. As I sat there, I went through all

Great Design Plant: Glossy Abelia for Year-Round Beauty

This underused shrub deserves a place in every garden. Its glossy foliage reflects light so that on a sunny day the shrub seems to be sprinkled with fairy dust. But the leaves are only part of its appeal. Fragra

Bromeliads: The Ultimate Collectors Plants

If you have an addictive personality, proceed with caution with bromeliads. These (mostly) treetop-dwelling rainforest plants are the designer shoes of the plant kingdom — and there are almost 10,0000 species an

6 Plants That Beat Butterfly Bush for the Wildlife Draw

In the late afternoon and early evening, when the summer sun is its most potent, the insects are in frenetic action. All over the garden, the tips of flowers launch into the air — if there were such thing as an

Great Design Plant: Autumn Sage Brings Color and Butterflies

Some fans of autumn sage (Salvia greggii) will rave about its beautiful flowers. Others will praise the fact that deer and rabbits leave it alone. Desert gardeners love that it will thrive underneath their fav

Great Design Plant: Ironweed Fills Tall Garden Orders

Im always on the lookout for native plants that I dont see in gardens but that I do see out in the wilderness. Ironweed is a unique plant thats as tough as nails, provides three-season interest and attracts bene

Great Garden Combo: Silver Sparkles Amid Purple and Blue Foliage

So often the landscaping that embraces the front of a home is less than exciting. In the Pacific Northwest, we suffer from an overload of junipers, rhododendrons and azaleas — what we refer to as the builders ba

Great Design Plant: Rocky Mountain Zinnia Brightens Hot, Dry Spots

If youre struggling with a hot and dry area that needs a big dose of color, Rocky Mountain zinnia can come to the rescue! This long-blooming perennial is a hardy native found on the dry slopes and mesas of the s

A Mom, a Garden and a Gift for the Neighbors

I normally hope to inspire readers to try new things in the garden, but this before-and-after project comes with a story that I hope will encourage you to start a garden wherever you are in life, with or without

Great Design Plant: Coastal Sweet Pepperbush Perfumes Gardens All Year

Put fragrant plants near a walkway or patio, and you instantly add a whole new dimension, making functional spaces feel more enticing with scent. Youll want to linger longer outdoors if youve got coastal sweet p

How to Give Your Garden More Soul

I dont want to start an argument, but thats inevitable when you talk about the subject of soul, especially in music. Marvin Gaye, of course, had soul. Robin Thicke doesnt. Whats a soulful garden? Its express

The Case for Losing the Traditional Lawn

Im already nostalgic for this past summer. Warm days spent frolicking outside, picnics, ice cream, birds chirping and the nonstop sound of lawnmowers as the smell of freshly cut grass wafts over the garden. But

Your Garden: 6 Fragrant Plants Surprise and Delight

One of the secrets to a successful garden design is to incorporate something unexpected, a surprise for the garden visitor. This can be done in many ways, but one surefire way to enliven a garden and create inte

Take Your Hell Strip to Heavenly Heights: 8 Design Ideas

Theres a reason homeowners and landscapers call it the hell strip. That patch of real estate between the sidewalk and the curb, also known as a parking strip, is often a catchall for patchy grass, weeds and tras