Sep 04 2025
Peas are usually associated with spring, but in the right climate they can make an excellent fall garden crop too. The challenge is timing. Fall peas need to be planted while summer is still hanging on so that they have enough time to grow before cold weather ends the season. That means seeds may have …
Aug 06 2025
Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,And here on earth come emulating flies,That though they never equal stars in size,(And they were never really stars at heart)Achieve at times a very star-like start.Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part. -Robert Frost, Fireflies in the Garden When the heat of the summer puts …
Aug 05 2025
Growing herbs at home can bring fragrance, flowers, flavor, and centuries of tradition into a garden. Long before pharmacies and modern medicine, people around the world used plants in teas, salves, poultices, foods, and other preparations. Many of those traditions continue today, and several familiar garden plants remain the subject of scientific research. That does …
Aug 03 2025
Few gardening projects reward a beginner as quickly as an herb garden. A handful of basil can become tonight’s pesto, fresh chives can transform scrambled eggs, rosemary can perfume a pan of roasted vegetables, and mint can turn an ordinary glass of water or iced tea into something special. Many herbs are attractive enough for …
Aug 01 2025
August can feel like the month when the garden begins winding down. Tomatoes are ripening, cucumbers may be sprawling everywhere, flowers are starting to look tired, and hot afternoons can make the idea of planting anything new seem slightly unreasonable. But August can actually mark the beginning of an entirely new gardening season. For much …
Jul 31 2025
Fuchsias are the kind of flowers that barely look real. Their dangling blossoms combine vivid pinks, reds, purples, whites, and corals in intricate layers, hanging from arching stems like tiny lanterns or ballerina skirts. Trailing varieties spill beautifully from hanging baskets, while upright forms can fill containers and garden borders with color from summer into …
Jul 30 2025
Few garden flowers have the presence of a peony in full bloom. Their enormous, silky blossoms can be delicately cupped or extravagantly double, appearing in shades of white, blush pink, coral, crimson, burgundy, and even yellow. Some varieties add fragrance to the display, filling the late-spring garden with a sweet perfume that makes their relatively …
Jul 22 2025
Few ground covers combine brilliant flowers, succulent foliage, and an ability to handle dry conditions quite like ice plants. When happy, these low-growing perennials spread into colorful mats covered with daisy-like flowers in shades of pink, purple, yellow, orange, red, and white. Hardy ice plants in the genus Delosperma are particularly useful in sunny, dry …
Jul 20 2025
Sea thrift is the kind of plant that proves a garden does not need lush soil and constant watering to be beautiful. Its tidy mounds of narrow, grass-like leaves stay low to the ground while slender stems rise above them carrying rounded clusters of pink, white, or rosy-purple flowers. Also known as thrift or sea …
Jul 19 2025
Few garden vines can transform a bare fence or simple trellis as quickly as morning glories. Their twining stems climb eagerly upward, covering supports with heart-shaped leaves and trumpet-shaped flowers that seem made for summer mornings. Classic varieties bloom in luminous blue, but morning glories also come in purple, pink, white, red, striped, and bicolored …
