There are lots of different hibiscus out there. Tropical Hibiscus are used as landscape plants in Hawaii, Florida and other climes that are usually warm—or even tropical—year round. Here we use them as patio plants in the summer, and houseplants…
Annual flowers provide the most color for your garden from spring to fall and unlike Perennials; annuals have a longer blooming period. Here are some secrets for keeping your baskets beautiful all summer long. 1) When selecting your basket, check…
I’m back home after a visit to the Pacific Northwest, where temperatures barely made it into the 70s. I know, hard to believe! But take a look at these photos of the famous Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island in Puget…
With temperatures over 100, it’s a good time to sing the praises of shade gardens, doncha think? Not only are they cooler; they also need less weeding and watering. And the garden of Behnkes’ own Randy Best proves that they…
Nontraditional front-yard gardens are increasingly in the news, and one in particular has been all OVER the news and blogosphere. In the (now notorious) town of Oak Park, Michigan, Julie Bass faced jail time for growing vegetables instead of turfgrass…
Thanks to everyone for making our recent Caribbean Festival so much fun! Above, Pancita Brydson and Harry Brokenberry from Island Style Ice Cream of Mt. Ranier, and two happy dancers. Andrea Grant is the author of A Little Taste of…
Heuchera – one of its common names is Coral Bells – is a North American native plant with several species native to Maryland. Most of what are sold are hybrids combining the best traits of several species of Heuchera. Some…
The winner of our give-away of this terrific new book 50 Beautiful Deer Resistant Plants, is Beltsville customer Kathy Kircher – congratulations! But we can’t withhold such great information about gardening with deer from the rest of our readers. So…
Watering July is a time when you can sit back for a moment and enjoy the fruits of your labor in the garden. Primary concern will be assuring ample supply of water for your plants. Amount of water depends…
You do not have to let your shrubs, trees and lawn wilt and die to conserve water. Nor do you need to have a yard composed of rocks and gravel to have a water-efficient landscape. In fact, you can have…
Here’s my rave of the new book about one of the world’s best public gardens – which happens to be near Philadelphia, so just a day-trip away. “Neither a museum nor a great plodding institution, Chanticleer is a gardener’s garden,”…
“Low Maintenance” has been a popular phrase in the gardening media for ages now, long enough to create plenty of confusion on the subject. So let’s start with the question: What is maintenance? The answer depends on the task and…