Learn how to create a beautiful garden that will capture rain and reduce and reduce run-off. Read Rain Gardens: Using Spectacular Wetland Plantings to Reduce Runoff
Plants & Gardens Blog
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Garden DesignSustainable GardeningUrban Gardening
Rain Gardens: Using Spectacular Wetland Plantings to Reduce Runoff
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Plant Choices
Splendid Salvias—14 Tender Perennials for Summer and Fall Bloom
Salvias are wonderful companions in the mixed border, providing the truest blue and brightest red flowers of any group of plants. The red ones, particularly those with long tubular flowers, are ideal lures and major nectar sources for hummingbirds as well as many species of butterflies. Many of the tender salvias begin to bloom in July and August in Zone 5, while others wait until September and early October to provide a burst of exquisite color that lasts until the curtain comes down with the first hard frost. Read Splendid Salvias—14 Tender Perennials for Summer and Fall Bloom
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Sustainable Gardening
The Why and When of Pruning
Many gardeners never think about training or cutting back plants until the neighbor is bleeding from a head-to-limb encounter with the crabapple (Malus) someone planted too close to a path or it's impossible to get past the eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) and through the front door. Read The Why and When of Pruning
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Garden DesignSustainable Gardening
The Espalier Method: What You Need to Know
The French word espalier refers both to a plant grown in a pattern on a flat plane and to the vertical support, such as a wire, trellis, wall, or fence, that it grows against. Read The Espalier Method: What You Need to Know
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Native FloraPlant Choices
Ravishing Rudbeckia—Coneflowers That Light up the Fall Garden
Blooming from late summer through frost, coneflowers bring saturated warm color and height—they grow anywhere from three to ten feet tall—to beds and borders. Coneflowers are easy to cultivate and good for cutting, and they mingle well with other plants as long as their flower colors are compatible. Read Ravishing Rudbeckia—Coneflowers That Light up the Fall Garden
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Plant Choices
Cape Fuchsias—Perennials With Punch
Native to South Africa, cape fuchsias (Phygelius species) will add verve to your borders with vibrant, warm-toned flowers that bloom for months in summer and fall. Read Cape Fuchsias—Perennials With Punch
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Pollinators and BirdsSustainable Gardening
Inviting Caterpillars Into Your Garden
Early naturalists believed that caterpillars and butterflies were separate, unrelated insects. How surprised they would have been by the notion of gardening to attract caterpillars! Yet, to further the cause of butterflies, providing host plants that feed the caterpillars is as important as filling flower beds with bright, nectar-rich blooms that provide nourishment for the adults. Read Inviting Caterpillars Into Your Garden
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Plant Choices
Power Plants—The Origin of Fossil Fuels
Did you know that current events on this petroleum-addled planet are closely linked to weird and wonderful plants that lived hundreds of millions of years ago? Read Power Plants—The Origin of Fossil Fuels
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Houseplants
Ceropegias: Succulent Vines That Bloom Indoors
Easy to grow and propagate, this genus of succulent vine thrives indoors and often produces wonderful blooms. Read Ceropegias: Succulent Vines That Bloom Indoors
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Plant Choices
Daisies of All Kinds
There's enormous variation of flower color and size among daisies. There's certainly something for everyone. Read Daisies of All Kinds