ArcaMax

If the Supertunia Vista were the diamonds of the petunia world for their toughness and perseverance, then surely the Mini Vistas would be the rubies and sapphires as so demonstrated this year. Mother Nature gave gardeners all the challenges they could handle from the standpoint of heat and drought.

The Supertunias seemed up to the task from the...Read more

Q: The house we just moved to has a huge sunroom. I have had a small veggie garden in the past, but this sunroom seems to have so much potential for growing vegetables over the winter in pots. I have never had much success with houseplants and have never tried a vegetable indoors. What tips can you give me?

A: Since it sounds like this is a new...Read more

Last week the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a new plant-hardiness zone map for the United States. Does the new USDA map offer proof that the climate is warming? No, it does not. Do temperatures shift warmer and colder over time? Of course they do. The temperatures over large regions fluctuate and hopefully always will. ...Read more

As I was drifting off to sleep last night, I muttered to myself "Knights and Princesses" and it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks. There was a cute marketing reason Proven Winners chose those names for their two series of lobularia or alyssum.

Little did I realize this had been addressed years ago, but I’m not the sharpest knife in the...Read more

The North Pole is waiting for you! I’m not talking about a geographic location or small village where Jolly Saint Nick and his crew are making toys, but a tree or shrub that will put you in the holiday spirit for this season and years to come. North Pole is a selection of arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, that will have you singing "Rockin’ ...Read more

Nov. 1 marked the conclusion of a group of the warm season window boxes created by son James and partner Anthony of Eden Estate Management in Columbus, Georgia. As best as I can calculate this has been a terrific 180-day display of what I have been calling the "Window Boxes of Yore."

I called them that because they had a look that was special. ...Read more

Q: I love chrysanthemums. I buy several colors of them each fall. I have tried planting them in the ground but they have never come back in the spring. Any suggestions?

A: There are several reasons that they don't make it through the winter. First, you need to buy a hardy variety. There are around 20 species of mums and thousands of varieties. ...Read more

In a growing season that could have turned into a Southern Hosta Boil, The Garden Guy and son James struck gold with the Shadowland Coast to Coast hosta. This hosta was actually Proven Winners' Hosta of the Year in 2020, but our accolades came this summer.

Whether you consider it a gold selection or a vivid chartreuse, Coast to Coast has the ...Read more

Q: I am so sad, and I hope you can give me a glimmer of hope. I moved my houseplants indoors for the winter, but I missed one whole group of plants that were on the other side of the house. I had moved them there to get them into a sheltered spot while I moved the rest in, but I forgot they were there. The nighttime temperature dropped to about ...Read more

The Garden Guy had the opportunity to add three Sunshine Blue II Caryopteris to the garden in late summer and I am glad I did. I’ve been a fan of Caryopteris for a long time but haven’t had a chance to grow it since I was a horticulturist with Mississippi State University.

Sunshine Blue II is a relatively new selection of Caryopteris incana...Read more

Q: My landscaper told me a couple of things that I don't understand. I think he is just trying to make some money. Is this a good time to fertilize a bluegrass lawn? Is this a good time to apply weed controls in the lawn or flower bed? How low should my lawn be mowed at the end of the year?

A: Your landscaper might be right if he is using the ...Read more

Water-hungry lawns are symbols of Los Angeles' past. In this series, we spotlight yards with alternative, low-water landscaping built for the future.

LOS ANGELES — Even in his early years, Stephen Reid knew he was destined to work and inspire with plants.

Today, Reid, 35, is the assistant curator and head gardener of the rose garden at the ...Read more

October is the Golden Delicious season and I am not talking apples. I am talking salvias and fattening up hummingbirds getting ready for the flight of their lives. If you are a flower garden lover though, it's been Golden Delicious season since the first of May.

I’ve written about Rockin Golden Delicious, a lusciously fragrant and colorful, ...Read more

Q: I saw your article on removing moles. We have gophers. Can you advise how to get rid of them?

A: Moles may be the easiest of the underground-dwelling mammals to remove from a garden. They are mostly solitary, and their tunnels are the easiest to find. They are slow and when they are caught, they don't do much to fight back or run away.

...Read more

Next year will be a banner one with the debut of Superbells Double calibrachoas and recipes that will bring an artistic touch to your porch, patio or deck. In August, I started giving you a sampling with Superbells Vintage Coral, but I would now add wait until you see Superbells Double Redstone.

If you are like me, your first thought will be ...Read more

Q: I have several potted trees that I don't think I am going to be able to plant this fall. The area they are going to go into is not ready to be graded to the final grade. There is a maple, an oak and two crabapples. How can I store the trees until spring? I won't be able to fit them into the attached garage and I don't have a shed.

A: What ...Read more

Serendipity is the perfect name for a fairly new ornamental onion or Allium, and, of course, if you decide to grow it, it will be a serendipitous love that both you and the butterflies will have for the plant. Let me explain.

Millenium, a great new ornamental onion at the time, was chosen as Perennial Plant of the Year. I didn’t try it, ...Read more

Q: I am moving some perennials and I found some daffodil bulbs in the ground. They have some brown sticky sap on the sides of the bulbs. Is this normal? Should I be concerned about the other bulbs in the flower bed that I haven't dug up?

A: When buying bulbs, always look at every bulb for sticky areas, discolored liquids, sunken areas, and ...Read more

The University of Georgia just announced their Classic City Award winners from their plant trial program, and I was beyond thrilled to see that Catalina Pink torenia, or wishbone flower, was one of the selections.

Guess what? It was a winner at The Garden Guy’s home trial too.

I’ve been writing these columns for about 26 years and I don�...Read more

Q: I have been thinking about putting in a rain garden. Do you have any advice on building one? What kind of plants can be planted in the flooded soil?

A: A rain garden is similar to other perennial flower beds you might build: It just holds water for longer. Rather than build a raised flower bed by adding organic matter to get better drainage,...Read more