Roll Out the Red Carpet for a Garden Thats a Smash Hit

I went through a red phase when I first started decorating my own apartments in my 20s. After about five years I fell out of love with the hot hue and went headlong into a love affair with green and sometimes t

Great Design Plant: Russian Sage

In late fall through winter, Russian sage sheds its flowers to reveal stately silvery stems for a perfect snowscape complement. But its also safe to say that purple-flowering plants reign in spring and summer ga

9 Fresh Herbs for Crowd-Pleasing Thanksgiving Dishes

Many favorite recipes for a Thanksgiving dinner call for fresh herbs. But instead of rushing to market to find what you need, wouldn’t it be nice to just step outside your door? Fresh herbs not only pack a more

Great Design Plant: Foxtail Fern

For a soft companion to succulents, an alternative to ornamental grasses or a way to effectively dress up a bare entryway or porch, consider foxtail fern. While many asparagus ferns are popular planting accessor

Fire and Ice: 8 Plants That Blaze Once Frost Hits

Lets face it: Fall can usher in a feeling of loss and sadness as the landscape slumps toward decay. Finding the right plants that perform at this time of year, when temperatures dip below freezing, can help you

Great Design Plant: Carol Mackie Daphne

Looking for a great shrub to add some pizzazz to your landscape? Carol Mackie daphne has the “fantastic four” elements of planting design: form, foliage, flowers and fragrance. And its trim size works well in

6 Healthy Ways to Handle Fallen Leaves

Weve been enjoying autumns leaf pageant for weeks — trees, shrubs and even perennials have been putting on a colorful show. But now that the leaf fall is almost complete, its time to create a strategy for dealin

8 Ways to Design an Alluring Backyard

“I know it when I see it.” Are you familiar with that saying? When it comes to art, furniture, film or wine, we don’t always find the right words to explain what moves us. Yet we do get an indescribable sensatio

6 Branches and Berries to Spruce Up Holiday Decor

When company comes and I want to create some atmosphere with a table arrangement, I eschew the offerings at the local supermarkets and opt to swing through my gardens, snipping branches, gathering what I need to

Great Design Plant: Conebush

A background plant is anything but a filler. Its a base, providing structure, highlighting surrounding plants and showcasing a little bit of its own special traits. In the garden and as a cut flower, conebush st

Glorious Purple Blooms Bring a Crowning Touch to Gardens

Purple may possibly be the perfect garden color. It is the color of royalty, which is obvious when you see it reigning supreme over the rest of the garden. At the same time, its a great mediator. It blends wel

Great Design Plant: Rock Cotoneaster

While fall and winter holidays may have the seasonal decorating market cornered, I like to think that in the home — and garden — ornamental festivities can be enjoyed year-round. Foliage, flowers and berries den

Frost-Hardy Foliage That Loves a Cold-Climate Garden

Foliage is what really counts. Flowers, stems, bark, fragrance — all of these are important, but when looking at plants from a design perspective, its the leaves that I care about, and anything that has a long s

8 Gorgeous Trees for Winter Interest in the Garden

Winter is often thought of as the time of year to escape the harsh elements and head indoors to get cozy. Most plants are dormant, and the garden is a much more subdued place than in the spring and summer, when

Great Design Plant: Arbutus Marina

My daughter planted Arbutus ‘Marina in her Mediterranean-style courtyard, because it reminds her of madrone trees at summer camp. Every time I see her tree, I think of carving a seventh-grade girl’s initials on

New Garden Styles Reveal Roots in Arts and Crafts Design

One of the interesting style developments at the 2012 Chelsea Flower Show was the new English style of planting that we saw in show gardens such as the M&G Investments Garden by Andy Sturgeon. This new style

Great Design Plant: Chinese Pistache

This is a very reliable tree with one true gift — sort of a Susan Boyle of the arboreal world. That gift is brilliant fall color: orange, red, sometimes yellow. For most of the year, Chinese pistache is so under

California Gardeners December Checklist

As a way to make us appreciate what we had, I guess, my mother used to tell a girlhood story about trudging through the California foothills gathering red toyon berries to sell for holiday decorations. She wasnt

Northeast Gardeners December Checklist

Its the last month of a busy year. Most of us have stashed away gloves and tools for the season, and some can kick off their boots by a toasty fire to warm their tired limbs. While our gardens sleep under a blan

Central Plains Gardeners December Checklist

I bet you’re starting to miss the garden just a little bit. You’d give anything to feel dirt under your nails. Even a fresh scratch from a maple branch would be somehow sweet. Just as in love, it’s about the ant