A hibiscus with nearly black leaves, a heavy-blooming version of a native pollinator plant, and a tropical that’s cold-tough enough to survive our winters are among the most interesting new perennial flowers debuting in the 2020 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked the following choices for our four-part, […]
A new line of disease-resistant impatiens, a sunflower that thinks it’s a blooming bush, and a velvety trailer that people can’t resist touching top the list of interesting new annual flowers debuting in 2020. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked those and more for the four-part, best-new-plants series I write […]
We’re only about nine weeks away from traditional pea-planting time (St. Patrick’s Day) and the beginning of a new growing season. It’s not too soon to think about what to buy, order, or make plans to plant while the selection is best. Especially with sought-after new varieties, supplies are often limited. For […]
Younger gardeners, succulents, eco-friendliness, and “plant parenting” are shaping up as some of this year’s hot trends in gardening. Here’s what gardening trend-watchers say they see in their 2020 compost-stained crystal balls: More gardening… and younger gardeners Interest in gardening continues to grow – and it’s no longer just mainly the over-50 […]
For 30 years, Erica Shaffer was Highland Gardens, that small-but-homey neighborhood garden center along South 18th St. in Lower Allen Twp. She was the face and voice of the business who answered bug and fertilizer questions, yakked about plants with loyal customers who were more like botanical brethren, and spoke to every garden […]
Picking the best plants makes a big difference in whether your landscape thrives or withers. Genes matter. So how do you sort the strong from the weak? One way is to lean on the experience of the experienced. Each year, organizations of growers, horticulturists, researchers, and other plant experts bestow […]
The Pennsylvania Garden Expo has been canceled for 2016 and may be gone for good.
Garden-show-touring can be tiring, taxing and sometimes a tad bewildering – especially in the case of cavernous, cattle-herd shows such as the 10-acre Philadelphia Flower Show. Five gardening and landscape-related shows happen late this month into next within day-trip range of Harrisburg (see the list below). If you’re going to any/all, I thought you might […]
The winter of 2013-14 was the worst in 25 years for plant damage. Here’s a look at the combination of insults that doomed so many of our landscape plants.
Now that we’re far enough into the growing season to see what died from winter and what was merely set back, what do you do now? Here’s a case-by-case rundown…