Bold, bright and colorful, Coleus adds instant pizzazz to garden and container plantings. A summertime favorite, this hearty annual is prized for its lush, colorful, textured foliage. Available in a wide variety of exuberant colors ranging from lime green to brilliant fuchsia to deep chocolate, Coleus is most often used as a bridge plant to tie together garden flowers with clashing colors. Coleus also performs beautifully as both an attention-getter and backdrop for other plants. Its thick, cushiony leaves add desirable texture to mixed garden plantings and container groupings. Available in a variety of sizes from tiny minis suitable for terrarium plantings to large plants that can reach the size of small bushes at maturity, Coleus is one of the most versatile summer annuals available. ...read more

America’s favorite bedding and container plant, the ubiquitous geranium is getting its year in the sun. The National Garden Bureau has named 2012 “The Year of the Geranium.” Since the 1920s, the non-profit National Garden Bureau has been promoting the joys of home gardening through public awareness and education. This year, the bureau has turned its spotlight on an old-fashioned favorite and much-loved American classic, the geranium. ...read more

Summer vacations are wonderful for gardeners but not so wonderful for their gardens. While you’re spending a delightful week or two at the beach or in the mountains, your garden is on its own and at the mercy of the elements. If the weather is mild and rainfall is consistent while you’re away, your garden should manage just fine without daily ministrations. You’ll have a few more weeds to pull and some deadheading to catch up on, but well-established plants can tolerate a week or two of mild neglect. However, with the dog days of summer nearly upon us, the weather while you’re away is likely to be broiling hot and desert dry. To protect the investment you’ve made in your garden – not to mention the sweat equity you’ve poured into your little piece of heaven -- you’ll want to add a few garden care chores to your vacation to-do list to ensure that when you return from your travels your garden will be just as beautiful as it was when you left.  ...read more

Summer’s barely begun, but garden centers are already marking down popular annuals. If you’re a vegetable gardener, this is the perfect time to stock up on Marigolds (Tagetes). These colorful, low-growing annuals with the tightly-ruffled pom-pom heads are the super hero of vegetable gardens.  ...read more

The wet spring is taking a toll on garden plants. In many gardens, fungal diseases seem to be blooming faster than the flowers (see our previous post). The forecast of more wet, humid weather doesn’t bode well for garden lovers. Once fungus takes hold, horticulturists say that, in most cases, there is little gardeners can do but wait it out. Even though plants look unsightly, well-established plants should weather the storm without permanent injury. Removing heavily diseased plants and giving your garden a good dose of broad-spectrum fungicide early next spring should return your garden to its normal beauty next year. ...read more

As soon as the snow melts, gardeners start checking their gardens for signs of spring. Cheerful yellow and purple crocuses decorate the ground, splashes of bright paint on the garden’s still barren canvas. The green tips of spring Tulips and Daffodils (Narcissus) can be seen emerging from the soil. The tiny flowerettes of the Sedum that will color the fall garden can be seen clustering around the dry stalks of last year’s growth. And spotted between your favorite plants, already green and growing are the first weeds. ...read more

The right plant in the right place; that’s the key to creating a beautiful garden that will flourish with minimal care. Think of your yard as a picture puzzle of interlocking ecosystems. Each piece of your yard is a small ecosystem all its own, providing a different mini-environment for growing plants.  ...read more

After spending the summer feeding, weeding and watering your garden, a bad winter can destroy those hours of hard work in an instant. It’s not usually the cold or snow that does in carefully-nurtured garden plants; it’s the application of rock salt and salt-based deicers on ice-slicked walkways and driveways that turns spring shoots brown and causes emerging plants to shrivel up and die.  ...read more

Some people mulch garden beds each spring and fall to give their outdoor landscape a professional appearance. But mulching your garden offers many benefits beyond the cosmetic. Adding mulch to flower beds helps to protect delicate garden plants, deter weed growth and enrich the soil, resulting in a more successful blooming season next spring and summer.  ...read more

When the other plants in your garden have turned brown and droopy and even the chrysanthemums are looking tatty, Asters (Aster) continue to star in the late fall garden. In fact, the name “Aster” is a derivative of the Greek word for “star.” Available from your local garden center in brilliant hues of deep fuchsia, bright white, sky blue, glowing lavender and royal purple, asters take the final bow before winter brings down its snowy curtain and the garden show is over for the year.  ...read more