In my neck of the woods, even though I’m in planting zone 9a, the fall through spring months are long and gloomy. By the time later winter rolls around, I have to have a little splash of color. The best way to get it from February to April is by planting crocuses. It seems like...
I’m a big fan of clovers, and red clover definitely has a space in my yard. I like to throw it in random spots, particularly along borders, as a sort of wild-growing flower. Red clover is generally grown in northern and midwestern states, however, it is occasionally grown as a winter annual in the Southeast....
When it comes to herb gardening, growing chives is something I don’t think I could do without. Every garden I’ve ever planted has a little section devoted to chives. Their flavor is great and I love their pink, tuft-like flowers. Chives are remarkably easy to grow, often requiring next to nothing from the gardener who...
This vintage beauty has occasional blooms throughout the summer and spring. Weigela requires little upkeep. Weigela is a robust and hardy shrub, thus taking care of it entails planting and watering a growing weigela in the appropriate location. What is Weigela? Although they rank one or two tiers below more familiar species like lilacs, azaleas,...
The Pride of Madeira is a popular addition to garden borders and beds and one of the easiest plants to grow and maintain. A native of the Portuguese island of Madeira and the Spanish Cayman Islands, it has become readily popular throughout America. Though the plant is not picky, it needs to be checked regularly...
Lantana plants are well-liked and cultivated in outdoor hanging baskets or as ground covers because of their distinctive vine-like appearance that sprawls from woody branches. Round clusters of tiny, vividly colored flowers, which can be yellow, orange, white, red, pink, blue, or purple, are what Lantana is famous for. The almost bright colors are frequently...
The Cigar plant (Cuphea ignea) is a low-growing, tender perennial shrub, and is more commonly known as the firecracker plant or the Mexican cigar plant. This tropical evergreen shrub is endowed with a bright red flower with black and white tips that resembles a lit cigar. The Latin word ignea means fire. The densely branched...
The well-known Annual Geranium blooms with red, purple, pink, or white blossoms and thick, pleated leaves. Authentic geraniums are frequently known as cranesbill or hardy geraniums. Before the genus Pelargonium was named in 1789, both kinds of plants were formerly classified as belonging to the Geranium genus. But many Pelargonium species continue to go by...
Early spring brings out the flowers of the Bleeding Heart vine (Dicentra spectabilis), which adorns the yard with eye-catching, heart-shaped blossoms borne on arching stalks. As the plant awakens from dormancy, attractive bluish-green foliage first appears. The Bleeding Heart’s flowers can be all-white or all-pink, as with the Bleeding Heart hybrid “Alba.” What are bleeding...
Occasionally, a post to Facebook detailing how to do something eco-friendly will go viral, but sometimes the information contained in these posts isn’t all that great. A viral post made in 2020 and another made in 2022 detailing eco-friendly ways to dispose of old rotting pumpkins are two such example. The first viral post, shared...
As a kid growing up in the midwest, the arrival of brief, glowing streaks of light around the yard at night signaled the real arrival of summer. My friends and I would catch fireflies, sometimes referred to as lightning bugs, and keep them in a jar, letting them illuminate our bedrooms at night. But since...
Whether or not I even use them in the things I cook, I love to grow herbs. One of the herbs you will always find in my garden is thyme. It’s a beautiful, fragrant, low-growing perennial herb that erupts in flowers that my local native pollinators just can’t seem to get enough of, and frankly,...
