Horticulturist Carol Allen knows about lawns – in a former job she had to deal with millions of visitors trampling the National Mall, which fortunately none of us have to contend with. And NOW is the best time to fertilize…
This year we’re seeing more interest than ever in growing fruit, so we asked Miri Talabac to share her tips with customers during our recent Spring Open House. Titled “Uncommon Fruits,” her talk covered these easy-to-grow fruits for our hot,…
Our woodies buyer, Miri Talabac, shared her favorite new and (mostly) underused shrubs and vines with customers recently, and they were so helpful, we decided to share them with readers of our website. Our blogger Susan Harris has added some…
Drift Roses One of the first plants I’ve bought for my small new-to-me garden is the fabulous new Apricot-colored Drift groundcover rose, shown above. I bought five, and they’re going to quickly grow together to form one traffic-stopping mass of…
Northern Virginia landscape architect Thomas Rainer (whose blog Grounded Design I’m a big fan of) recently spoke to a rapt audience at the National Arboretum’s Native Plant Symposium, addressing the big question – how to create a native-plant garden that…
This is part 2 of my summary of landscape architect Thomas Rainer’s talk about native plants at the Lahr Native Plant Symposium. Don’t miss Part 1 – Designing with Native Plants. Thomas’s myths about native plants 1. That native plants…
Carol Allen may be a plant geek, horticulturist and organic gardener, but she’s also a self-professed LAZY gardener. So when she teaches her favorite ways of dealing with garden pests, you know it’ll be the most effective, easiest to do,…
I recently visited the garden of Behnkes’ perennials buyer Larry Hurley, shown in this blog story. But there’s another whole group of great shade plants that I admired in Larry’s garden – ferns! – so asked him to share with…
Below are pruning tips from tree and shrub expert John Shearin: Why Prune? Indeed, it’s best to have a reason to prune before picking up the loppers and lopping away willy-nilly. So here are some good reasons for pruning in…
In late January Carol Allen talked to Behnke customers about how to get their vegetable garden ready for the new season. Carol’s an “honest-to-God horticulturist,” in her words, and avid organic vegetable gardener. First she reminded us why it’s so…
Simply put – Weigelgas are lush, old-fashioned shrubs that make a big impact in the garden and do it quickly. I regularly recommend them to my garden-coaching clients, telling them that Weigelas grow fast, are quite drought-tolerant, are unbothered by…
You’re going to do WHAT to that poor, defenseless bulb?! Getting past its dreadful name, bulb forcing isn’t so bad. In truth, bulb forcing is relatively cheap, easy, and certainly rewarding. A preview of spring in the dead of…