Garden Articles
Winter Houseplant Care
With programmable thermostats, double-paned windows, and other tricks, we are able to keep our homes at the same climatic comfort level year-round. Indoor houseplants, however, can be sensitive to subtle seasonal changes. Even in a balanced home environment, proper winter houseplant care is essential to help plants thrive through this challenging season. Winter Changes in […]
Summer Watering Tips
As the days heat up, watering can become a dreaded garden chore and too many gardeners use wasteful techniques that use plenty of water but don't give their plants the moisture they really need. Make watering plants easier and more efficient with the proper practices and tools...
Crazy for Coneflowers
Beautiful and dependable, Echinacea purpurea, or purple coneflower, is the crowning glory of the summer perennial garden. A member of the Aster family, all Echinacea species are native to North America. The genus Echinacea is derived from the Greek ‘echino’ meaning hedgehog, a reference to the spiny center disc flowers.
Protecting Our Pollinators
Every garden requires pollinators, and bees are among the finest. Without them there would be limited flowers and far fewer fruits and vegetables. Did you know that about 30 percent of the food we eat depends on the pollination of bees, including onions, cashews, coffee, carrots, chocolate and vanilla? If we don’t protect these prolific […]
Protecting Trees From Drought Stress
Summer can be the most stressful time of year for landscape plants with heat and drought being the main offenders. When not receiving sufficient moisture, plants are much more susceptible to insect and disease damage.
Dealing With Drought
Because plants require moisture to grow and thrive, your garden will probably suffer during periods of low rainfall and intense heat. Insufficient soil moisture will result in smaller flowers and fruit, stunted plant growth, decreased root development and increased plant disease and insect damage. Fortunately, there are many things that you can do to minimize the impact of drought on your garden.
Bringing Butterflies to the Backyard
In spring, female butterflies will be mostly concerned with finding their species’ specific host plants on which to lay fertilized eggs. Instinctively, they know they must find plants to ensure that their caterpillars will have appropriate food for survival after hatching. Both male and female butterflies will be looking for flowers with nectar for their own survival.
Variegated Solomon’s Seal
If you don’t already grow variegated Solomon’s Seal in your shade garden, this is the year to start. This charming, visually appealing perennial is similar to hostas, but has its own unique character that will add beauty, texture and interest to your landscape.
Decorating for the Holidays
Whether your prefer a single candle in each window or a 12-foot tree covered with glittering decorations, our ideas will help you create a special home, from the simple to the dramatic!
Holiday Tree for the Birds
Celebrate the season with your feathered friends by decorating a tree in your yard, or even one in a container, with special treats they'll love.
Entrance Way Evergreens
Cool and classic or chic and contemporary, no matter what your style, you'll always be proud of an entrance flanked with beautiful containers highlighting just-right evergreens.
Caring for Orchids
Orchids can be an amazing addition to your indoor landscape, but unfortunately they have a reputation for being finicky and difficult. While they do require precise care, if you know what their needs are, you can easily grow a variety of beautiful orchids and enjoy their exotic loveliness throughout the year. To care for orchids […]
Now For Something Completely Different… Poinsettias!
They have traditionally been the winter holiday’s most popular plant, the sure and steady standby, but have you seen poinsettias lately? These are not your mother’s poinsettias! Endless selections of bract colors and shapes combined with unique foliage offerings and a wide variety of forms and sizes make this year’s collection spectacular.
The Benefits of Plants in the Workplace
Time spent in nature is well known to provide many physical, mental and emotional benefits, but what if your work schedule and career keep you in an office without many opportunities for heading outdoors? You can bring the outdoors in and reap many of the same benefits. Plants Can Improve Your Workplace There has been […]
Creating Humidity for Houseplant Health
Have your houseplants been looking dingy and dry no matter how much you may water them? Have they lost the lustrous glow their foliage first had when you got them? Poor humidity may be the cause. Many of our houseplants hail from the tropics and grow in humidity of 50-80 percent, considerably more humid than […]
