The ups and downs of the gardening world.
Working outside I encounter a lot of unusual pests and annoyances. One of my most despised pests is the Tomato Hornworm. Tomato Hornworms are really big green alien-like caterpillars that can munch through and devastate your vegetable garden. Nondescript brown moths lay pearl-like eggs on your tomato, pepper, or eggplant, from which the big green monsters …
Continue reading "Don’t Kill That Tomato Hormworm!!"
With all the new intros of flowers, people forget the old-fashioned flowers that our grandmothers grew and enjoyed. 'Flowers with a past', or 'flowers with history' intrigue me even in the face of the preference of perennials in recent years. So many people when they hear that a plant is an annual turn up their …
Continue reading "Growing Heirlooms – Old Fashioned Annuals That Rock!!"
Growing your own food sounds like a great way to save money — until you spend a ton of money on soil and plants (not to mention a ton of time), only to end up with one measly tomato. Is growing your own food unrealistic, or can you really start a garden without spending a …
Continue reading "Gardening the Easy Way: No-Fuss Tips for Beginning Gardeners"
With more people staying at home because of COVID, the demand for bright colorful containers to decorate your surroundings is on the rise. As a designer, I have received a record number of requests for container designs this spring and found that there is a shortage of exciting plant sources that I normally would go …
Continue reading "Containers With Pizzazz…. !!"
Lemon Verbena has always been at the top of my list of herbs to grow for its intense lemony fragrance. More pungent that lemon balm or lemon thyme, I ended up with a bumper crop last year and found many uses for it. Be sure to buy a transplant this spring and place it where …
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If you have deer visit your garden and want some color in partial shade or sun, consider planting Calycanthus floridus. A wonderful, easy-to-grow shrub, Carolina Sweet Shrub features strongly fragrant dark red flowers in early summer. The show doesn't stop there; the leaves often turn a nice shade of yellow in the fall. Carolina Sweet …
Continue reading "Carolina Sweet Shrub-Another Deer Proof Shrub Addition"
One of my favorite design jobs landed in my lap about 10 years ago. I really didn't know what to expect when I first visited the property - a modest home set on a busy road with a huge level back yard. There was a steep slope out the back door with some ancient concrete …
Continue reading "Hillside Transformation"
If you are looking for an easy care shrub, with little to no pruning, deer resistant, and fabulous fall color, look no further than the Red-Veined Enkianthus. Award of Garden Merit Plant Enkianthus campanulatus 'Showy Lanterns', the red-veined enkianthus has always captured my interest with its striking hanging bell-like flowers. In the springtime, this shrub …
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The sheer variety of shapes and colors of Columbine flowers has always amazed me. Coming in one color or contrasting colors, there are miniature ones just a few inches high, and towering ones up to 3 feet high or more. Dangling, nodding, upright; The blossoms run the gamut of presentations. One thing they all have …
Continue reading "Columbine-Overlooked Cottage Garden Gem"
One summer day working at a client’s garden doing routine maintenance, I caught a whiff of wonderful fragrance on the breeze. After searching for the source, I came upon a mid-sized shrub full of narrow, spike-like creamy white flowers with an extremely sweet fragrance. Alive with insects darting in and out, the shrub swayed in …
Continue reading "Clethra: Deer Resistant, Fragrant, and Pollinator Catnip"
