I love public gardens. I’ve seen hundreds of them across America as well as Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, and as far away as the other-worldly Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Cape Town, South Africa. Lots of you have gone on our Lowee’s and Collette tours to many of them, so I know I’m not […]
Picking superior varieties is especially important in vegetable gardening since there are so many choices with so much variability in performance. No plant is perfect and bullet-proof in all aspects and all places, but it is possible to breed for specific traits. So what we have is a fairly large and ever-changing […]
A miniature version of the popular Knock Out rose, a super-short clematis that can be used as a groundcover, and three new dark-leafed shrubs are among the best new trees and shrubs debuting in the 2021 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked the following for my annual January […]
Ajugas with multi-colored leaves, compact versions of two pollinator-magnet native flowers, and three exceptionally good-looking herbs are among a banner slate of interesting new perennial flowers debuting in the 2021 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked the following choices for my annual January four-part, best-new-plants series. The […]
A showy new sweet potato vine, two heavy-blooming new begonias, and arguably the best yellow petunia yet top the list of interesting new annual flowers debuting in 2021. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked those and more for my four-part, best-new-plants series that I compile each January – a good […]
If even a fraction of the estimated 16 million new gardeners who tried growing their own food for the first time last year goes at it again this year, demand will remain high for vegetable seeds and young, spring-time transplants. The bottom line is that you’d better get your seed orders in early […]
Droves of stuck-at-home families started food gardens and carved relaxation areas out of their yards this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gardening trend-watchers say those will carry over as the biggest two gardening trends on the 2021 horizon as well. As we close the door on 2020, here’s the dirt […]
One of the best resources for making wise plant picks in Pennsylvania gardens is the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Gold Medal Plant Program. Each year, a panel of regional plant experts gets together to hash out what are some of the best trees, shrubs, evergreens, and perennial flowers that deserve greater use in our […]
The Philadelphia Flower Show is going to happen in 2021, but for the first time in the show’s 192-year history, it’ll take place outside. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic prompted the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which produces the show, to rethink what’s always been an indoor show – long taking place in late winter. […]
It’s no secret there was a huge boom in vegetable gardening this year – whether it was because people were worried about the food supply or because they were stuck at home and looking for productive things to do. The green industry estimates some 16 to 18 million new gardeners dug into the […]