Gardening

Before I had shade gardens, I thought of hostas as boring shade garden plants. Now that I have lots of shade, I’m embracing growing hostas and all the beautiful varieties that are available. Yes, there are still many plain-Jane hostas, like Royal Standard, lancifolia and the common variegated green ones that other gardeners give away….

There seems to be a turn towards including native plants in our flower gardens. Is it just a trend? Trends come and go, so I hope not! I believe most gardeners already include native plants in their gardens, although perhaps unknowingly. So why all the hype? Do you need native plants in your flower garden?…

Do you have a flower garden that desperately needs a makeover? Or, perhaps your flower garden is just overgrown and needs help. Maybe you inherited a complete weed pit from the previous owners of your home. Perhaps it’s just a mish-mash jumble of a garden that needs some TLC. Maybe it was once a great…

I love my shade gardens! Of all my flower beds, the shade gardens are the lowest maintenance gardens. They are the gardens that if they don’t get any attention for a few weeks they do just fine. There are so many stunning perennials for shade, that if you have shade and do a little digging…

For seasoned gardeners (like me) and novice gardeners alike, a trip to the gardening center can be pure sensory overload and even overwhelming. So many beautiful flowers and plants – which ones do I choose? Yikes, I just know I’m going to spend too much!  Can you relate? I’ve put together these tips and tricks…

Do you ever look at a plant and think, “why in the world did I put that plant there”, or “how did that plant get there”. The beauty of perennial gardening is that you can very easily move plants around. I rearrange my gardens like I rearrange furniture; every year striving for that perfect combination….

Other than the fact that Winter follows too close behind, I love Fall! It’s such a wonderful time of year, with the chill in the air, pumpkins, mums, scarecrows, bonfires and fall flower gardens. Today it all comes together with some awesome fall flower garden inspiration and some cute and creative fall outdoor decor Ideas….

Do you gather seeds from your favorite flowers or vegetables in the Fall? I’ve been doing a bit of Gathering and Sowing Seeds and I get excited thinking about the little seedlings coming up next spring. I can go crazy overboard buying seeds in the winter when the seed catalogs come out, but those $2, $3…

Geraniums are one of the most popular annual flowers (tender perennials in some gardening zones) and some of the easiest to grow. Zonal Geraniums (pelargonium) are beautiful plants and can cost anywhere from $3 – $5 a piece for one 4” pot. If you buy a lot of them, that can really add up. I…

When September arrives, we’re ready for a change of mood in the garden! In some places, fall is in the air and cooler weather has arrived! In other places, summer temperatures are still hanging around! But, whether the weather is cooling down or still in the 90s, now is the perfect time to refresh summer…