A new line of blight-resistant boxwoods, a super-short version of native chokeberry, and a disease-resistant new leucothoe are among the best new trees and shrubs debuting in the 2020 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked the following for our annual four-part, best-new-plants series. Today’s best new trees […]
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 […]
One myth about poinsettias that just won’t go away is the one that claims they’re poisonous – enough so to kill people. That belief apparently dates to a misdiagnosed death of a Hawaiian two-year-old in 1919. Despite numerous research reports ever since, about half of Americans still believe that poinsettias are poisonous. […]
Nothing comes close to the poinsettia as king of the Christmas plants. But lately, there’s an elegant floral queen that’s been closing the popularity gap – orchids. This large and diverse family of bloomers used to have the reputation of being expensive to buy and finicky to grow. Then mass merchants […]
The grass is always greener on the other side (unless you’re a fertilizer fanatic). The same is often true with plants when you travel to other climates and see what those gardeners can grow that you can’t. Warmer winters, different soils, and less erratic/extreme weather add up to a lot of amazing […]
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 […]
I’ve always thought that people lean too heavily on lawns, mainly because it’s the default choice when 1.) they can’t think of anything better to do with the space, or 2.) they’d rather not invest in the work and expense to do something else. I have nothing against lawns, but unless we really […]