One of the odder things you’ll sometimes see in nature this time of year is little green balls about the size of Ping-Pong balls. Sometimes they’re very light-weight and papery with white fibers inside. Other times, they’re spongy – almost like over-ripened, mini green apples. People usually don’t know what to make […]
A lot of gardeners are trying to lean native in the landscape these days. Trees are one of the easiest ways to do that because, fortunately, many native Pennsylvania and U.S. tree species are as functional survival-wise and wildlife-friendly-wise as they are beautiful and “well behaved.” If you’re planning to add a […]
I got an email from Cathy in Camp Hill wondering what to do about her 70-by-70-foot lawn that’s so overrun with weeds that there’s barely any grass left. “I’m die-hard eco-friendly,” she says, “and I really don’t want to use anything toxic to the birds I feed or the insects they eat.” […]
I’m running a deficit right now. Money and energy, too, but the one I’m talking about has to do with trees. When my wife, Sue, and I moved to Pittsburgh last year, we inherited a long-unkempt lot that had a variety of dead, dying, and hazard trees. A huge, struggling pin oak […]
Joe Lamp’l, a.k.a. “Joe Gardener” and the host of PBS’s “Growing a Greener World,” is one America’s most trusted garden communicators because he’s such a practical guy who draws on what he’s learned from his own lifetime of hands-on gardening. Joe’s latest and maybe most prodigious effort yet is his attempt to figure […]
This week’s 2020 Philadelphia Flower Show is showcasing plants and gardening of the Mediterranean – especially the gardens of southern France, Monaco, northwestern Italy, and a touch of Spain. This is a colorful, fragrant, and highly textural form of gardening that I think a lot of Pennsylvanians would like… if we didn’t have […]
Last week, I introduced you to a photo gallery of 50 of my favorite American garden settings of all-time. This week, it’s time to take a look at 50 of my favorite international gardens that I’ve seen in the 30 or so years I’ve been a garden writer. As with the American […]
I’ve seen literally thousands of gardens, both public and private, in the 30 or so years I’ve been a garden writer. Some of them really stand out in my mind, mostly because of a particular feature or setting that made the space impressively memorable. I thought I’d share some of them with […]
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, […]