Last week, when I was feeling under the weather, my son handed me a delicious cup of tea. It didn’t surprise me when he asked about what we could plant this summer to make our own tea. He is always planting in his mind’s eye, even in February – a challenging time for those with twitching green thumbs.
I can’t resist a “Top 10” list. I also can’t resist weighing in on their choices. So here are the plants, with Birds and Blooms explanation of why they love each plant, and my own assessment of each plant. 1. …
Bring The Butterflies Home With These Shrubs Butterflies need two types of plants: as adults, they need Nectar Plants: that is, plants with flowers. Below are some good nectar plants. Find the key to the photos on the link. They…
It’s not summer YET but when the heat finally comes, I’ll wish I could hang out in Randy Best’s cool hosta garden, shown above and in lots more photos here. Around our Beltsville store Randy’s known as Mr. Hosta -…
“Less Lawn” is the shorthand for a new trend in gardening that started in the arid West and is coming East, fast. (Lord knows the Lawn Reform Coalition is doing everything it can to spread the word.) And one of…
Just as we’re all going gaga over the (finally!) emerging spring bulbs, let’s pause to appreciate some flowers we’ve been enjoying for the last couple of months, those of the Hellebore family. Hellebore breeder (and author) David Culp visited Behnkes…
When I reported on my new back garden in late July it looked woefully empty, as shown above. Patio and walkway done, a few shrubs and trees planted, but otherwise bare. In this September photo you can see some of…
Something that gardeners sometimes disagree about is whether to clean up their beds in the fall or wait until spring, and I was interested to learn that horticulturist Carol Allen is in the clean-up-in-fall school. In fact, her garden is…
I’ve reported on on my favorite plants for fall color in sunny spots and as promised, here are my faves for shade. Annuals Coleus come in dozens of colors and patterns. Mine are just now, in late October, losing their…
Another installment in what’s turning out to be a series of articles about fall color in the garden, this one the result of my trip to the Mall over the weekend. So what better place to start admiring the gardens…
Ever heard of Dendranthemas? Me, neither. They used to be one of the types of Chrysanthemums but that genus was split in 1961 and now we have this new term for them. Other terms include “perennial chrysanthemums” and “hardy mums”…
Last Sunday I was manning the information booth at Greenbelt’s Farmers Market when a gentleman stopped to ask if anyone knew what colorful plants were growing in the median strip along the main street into town – the spot shown…