Gardening with Wildflowers and Native Plants

Bring Simple Grace and Ecological Balance to Your Landscape Echinacea, or purple coneflower, is a native plant that attracts butterflies. In a world of red geraniums and yellow marigolds, wildflowers offer simple elega

How to Grow Irises: Types, Planting, and Care

A Rainbow of Irises from Spring to Fall Siberian irises are among the first to bloom—about the same time as bearded irises. Irises are among the earliest, easiest perennials. With 300+ species hardy across the U.S., yo

Filling Flower‑Garden Gaps: Techniques for Continuous Color

Keep Your Beds Looking Great All Season The alliums, peonies, and delphiniums are long gone, but my garden is even more colorful in August. Front to back: Rudbeckia hirta, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, Tanacetum parthenium, Agast

Container Gardening: Complete Guide to Growing in Pots

Grow Anywhere with Containers Self-watering planters make it easy to grow plants in almost any location. Container gardening saves space and solves problems: too much shade, poor soil, limited time, mobility issues, or

Fill Garden Gaps with Outdoor Decor

Creative Ornaments Add Color, Motion, Light, and Pizzazz After 25 years of transforming a blank lawn into a haven of native shrubs, productive vegetable beds, fruit trees, and berry patches, I’ve learned that flowers ar

How to Grow Dahlias: A Complete Guide

Growing Spectacular Dahlias from Tubers to Blooms Dahlias are the showstoppers of the late‑summer garden, offering an incredible range of colors, forms, and sizes. With a little know‑how, you can enjoy armloads of cut fl

Easy Homemade Spa Gifts from the Garden

Create Fragrant Bath & Body Treats with Essential Oils These homemade gifts are surprisingly simple—and fun—to make. Photos: Suzanne DeJohn Recipes in This Article Bath Bombs Herbal Bath Salts Soothing Salve Room/

How to Choose Trellises and Supports for Climbing Plants

Take Your Garden Vertical with the Right Supports After a tour of British gardens, you’ll quickly appreciate how climbing plants transform a space. Roses clothe walls, clematis weaves through shrubs, and sweet peas dance

Common Flower Diseases: Identify and Control Powdery Mildew, Gray Mold, and Black Spot

Battling Mildew, Mold, and Black Spot Mid- to late summer is when most plant diseases become noticeable. Powdery mildew, gray mold (Botrytis), and black spot are three of the most common flower diseases. Learn to recogni

How to Grow Daylilies: The Ultimate Low-Maintenance Perennial

A variety called Hyperion. If theres a “sure bet” perennial, its the daylily. They thrive from Minnesota to Florida (zones 3–9), tolerate diverse soils, resist diseases and pests, and bloom faithfully for years with vir

How Plants Climb: A Guide to Vines, Tendrils, Twining Stems, and More

All About Vines and Other Climbing Plants Peas use tendrils to climb a trellis. Shop for Vegetable Supports. Morning glories and clematis use leaf tendrils to climb. Shop for Flower Trellises. Growing up rather than ou

Flowers You Can Eat: A Guide to Growing and Harvesting Edible Blooms

Learn How to Grow and Harvest Edible Flowers To add chive blossoms to green salads, remove the central stem and separate the florets. Nothing says “gourmet” like colorful flower petals in a salad, tiny Johnny jump-ups o

How to Build a Rain Garden: Capture Runoff, Protect Waterways, and Create a Beautiful Habitat

Theres a new garden in town: easy to install, looks good year-round, and positively impacts the environment. Its a rain garden. A rain garden is a shallow depression designed to collect stormwater runoff from roofs, dri

Make Your Own Herb-Infused Syrups for Cocktails and Refreshing Drinks

In my tenure at Gardeners Supply, Ive been staff horticulturist, retail nursery supervisor, and product information specialist. For a natural teacher, avid gardener, and plant geek, this work is a perfect fit. Twenty-fi

Plans for Cutting Gardens: Two Designs for Summer-to-Fall Bouquets

Details for Two Gardens That Ensure Bouquets from Summer to Fall The cutting garden in mid-July. Cutting Garden 1 Designed for a 7 ft × 7 ft planting area. Each of 14 sections measures 1 ft deep × 3 ft wide. Typically 6

All About Heat Zones: Why Temperature Extremes Matter for Plant Survival

The American Horticultural Societys Heat Zone Map parallels the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. Instead of cold extremes, its based on the number of “heat days” in an area. Download the AHS Heat Zone Map (PDF). For a suc

Are You Ready for Roses? New Products and Proven Favorites for Success

New Products and Reliable Favorites Ensure Success When Growing Roses After 20+ years gardening and writing, I still learn new things about backyard plants, insects, and critters—gardening is never boring. My background

Feed Your Soul: Plant a Cutting Garden for Backyard Bouquets

Enjoy Backyard Bouquets from Spring to Fall As a founding employee of Gardeners Supply, I wore many hats over the years. Now I run Johnnie Brook Creative. My Richmond, VT gardens include a large vegetable garden, seasona

Eight Steps to a Water-Wise Garden

With the Snip-n-Drip Pot and Planter Soaker System you can create a customized irrigation system that reduces watering chores and keeps plants hydrated and healthy. No special tools needed for Snip-n-Drip systems. Cut

Growing Brugmansias: How to Overwinter Angel's Trumpets for Year-After-Year Drama

Also Known as Angels Trumpets, These Beauties Are Worth Saving Year to Year When I started at Gardeners Supply in the 1990s, my Vermont backyard was mostly grass. Today, just a tiny patch of original lawn remains—trees,