The National Gardening Association’s 2023 National Gardening Survey found that an estimated 80 percent of American households are taking part in some sort of lawn or gardening activity. That’s a five-year high and comes despite markedly higher prices in plants and gardening supplies. What form will that interest take in 2024? Here’s […]
Now that another gardening season is in the bag, it’s a good time to look back and see what lessons we can draw from it. The 2023 gardening year was another one that brought us lots of twists and turns, not the least of which was more erratic weather and feast-or-famine rainfall. […]
Why wing it with your plant selection when you can weigh the word of experts who know the difference among the good, the bad, and the so-so’s? Each year, organizations of growers, horticulturists, researchers, and other plant experts bestow awards on what they consider to be the top plant performers – some new, […]
The world’s first cascading hydrangea, a lime-and-black-leafed weigela, and a really skinny arborvitae are among the most interesting new trees and shrubs hitting the market for the 2023 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts mentioned the following 14 choices for the Best New Trees and Shrubs installment of my […]
The first dark-leafed astilbe with purple flowers, a red-blooming delphinium, and a native alternative to salvia and lavender top the list of interesting new perennials debuting in the 2023 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked the following 14 choices for the Best New Perennials installment of my annual […]
One of the best-blooming petunias yet, four striking new begonias, and a pair of disease-resistant impatiens are among a slew of interesting new annual flowers debuting in the 2023 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked those and more for the four-part, best-new-plants series that I compile each January […]
Seedless peppers, a basil that fights off a troublesome disease, and a tomato bred for dipping highlight the list of what’s new in home-garden edibles for 2023. Those are just a few of the many interesting new plants debuting this year. I’ll zero in on some of the year’s best new introductions […]
Runoff from farms and factories is a key source of water pollution that ends up draining into the Chesapeake Bay, where it’s long harmed the health of aquatic life. But runoff from the fertilizers that go on our ample acreage of home lawns also is a contributor – an estimated 14 percent of […]
Those of you who wanted the Philadelphia Flower Show to go back inside after two years of COVID-forced outdoor shows will be getting your wish. The 2023 Philadelphia Flower Show will take place March 4-12, 2023, inside its former home of the Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch streets in center-city Philly. […]
Peat moss has long been our go-to, store-bought, plant-growing medium, useful for everything from starting seeds to growing potted plants to “lightening” our lousy clay soil. But its widespread use is under fire lately as some argue that gardeners should move away from peat moss altogether for environmental and climate-change reasons. The […]