Great Design Plant: Mardi Gras Sneezeweed Throws a Color Party

Late summer to me is about kicking back and enjoying the garden with friends and family, so I rely on easy-care plants to be the mainstay of my designs.Sneezeweed is often overlooked in favor of the better-know

Ditch Shade Garden Gloom the Tropical Way

During the hot days of summer, shade gardens are the most happening places for those who live in the tropics, but sometimes the darkness under the trees can get downright gloomy. Tropical plants are as bright an

Field Trip: Gather Ideas on a DIY Garden Tour

Nothing beats taking a garden tour for inspiration and education. I am fortunate enough to live in an area with several annual garden tours, but for one reason or another, Ive never been able to make even one of

Herb Garden Essentials: Grow Your Own Delicious Mint

First a word of warning: “Invasive” is the polite way to refer to mint’s growing habits. In ideal, or even not so ideal, conditions, mint will take over your garden, spreading by underground roots. Consider it

3 Ways Native Plants Make Gardening So Much Better

Six years ago my wife and I married (on 7/7/07, like so many others), and we immediately moved into our first home together. I told her I wanted a garden, and when she said, Go for it, Im not sure we knew what t

How to Go Bold With Summer Garden Color

If you take a walk around your neighborhood on a summer afternoon, youll find that some gardens stand out from the rest. Some gardeners get your attention by using bold colors that stand out in the harsh sunligh

6 Water-Wise Perennials for Blazing High-Altitude Summers

Keep your garden colorful and your soul refreshed during the long, hot days of summer with the beautiful blooms of these tough perennials. Gardening at high elevations — altitudes of 5,000 feet or more — present

8 Plants That Snobs Love to Hate — and Youll Love to Grow

Some time ago a mother of the bride was lamenting her bride-to-be daughters objections to lily of the Nile as a wedding flower. Its just a freeway flower, the daughter said. She was right. Lily of the Nile (Agap

Crazy for Colorful Cones: 5 Container Plantings Beyond the Bowl

Hanging baskets have been a feature of British gardens for generations. Usually planted with an array of summer-flowering annuals and half-hardy perennials, they put that extra something into even a small garden

Great Design Plant: Sun-Loving Bougainvillea Showers Yards With Color

The beauty of bougainvillea can hardly be overstated; its vibrant hues offer stunning color to sun-loving landscapes. This vigorous grower isnt fussy and is easy to grow as long as it gets full sun. Those who

Butterfly Gardening: Delight the Eyes With Living Sculptures

Once weve laid out a landscape — installed the pavers and edging and mulch, placed the plants — we can sit back in deck chairs and admire the splendor of a beautiful vista. But theres another element just below

Herb Garden Essentials: Grow Your Own Fragrant Lavender

If any plant can be said to have it all, or at least a good portion of it all, it’s lavender. This Mediterranean native is easy to grow even outside its preferred growing conditions, is mostly pest- and disease-

Great Design Plant: Wildlife-Loving Dwarf Fothergilla Blazes in Fall

My property is certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and many of the plants in it attract beneficial pollinators and support insect larvae. One of the standouts is native fothergil

Great Design Plants: Stars of the Succulent Garden

Each succulent stands out in its own way — the variegated foliage of Aeonium, the size and grandeur of agave, the cold-hardiness and resilience of Sempervivum. Out-of-this-world color and year-round beauty belon

Great Design Plant: Callirhoe Involucrata Wakes Up Hot Garden Spots

Every landscape needs a plant with a bit of rambunctious zing. Purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata), with its long, trailing stems and summerlong show of flowers, is stunning as a single specimen plant, u

Great Design Plant: Velvety Dwarf Bottlebrush Beckons a Touch

Callistemon viminalis Little John may very well be the hottest plant youve never heard of. Those of you in the subtropics may be familiar with bottlebrushes as showy trees and large shrubs, but this dwarf variet

Container Garden Basics: How and When to Water Potted Plants

“How often do I need to water?” is usually the first question I get from clients after finishing their container gardens. It’s an important question, and the simple, honest answer is that you should water as oft

Great Design Plant: Palo Blanco Softens Sharp Desert Angles

The wispy beauty of the palo blanco tree belies its ability to handle the tough growing conditions of the desert, including areas with reflected heat. The attractive foliage of this desert native, along with its

Exuberant Self-Seeders for Gorgeous, Easy-Care Gardens

As garden designers we need to prove ourselves on every new project. Homeowners and professionals alike invest a lot when constructing new walls, terraces and lighting systems. And theres a lot required to maint

5 Sensational Flowering Vines for Warm Climates

Love them or hate them, no tropical garden is complete without those wild and crazy vines. They latch on where they dont belong, require persistent pruning, take up more space than theyre ever given and will swa