Choosing to name a variety of lantana "Cosmo" may seem quite strange. While there are numerous definitions of the word cosmo, it largely means a peaceful and harmonious system and/or universe. So let’s apply that definition to the award-winning Luscious Royale Cosmo lantana.

If you asked me if you could use this lantana in a monochromatic ...Read more

Panicle hydrangeas, or Hydrangea paniculata varieties, have skyrocketed in popularity, largely thanks to producers that have given us more varieties than we could have ever imagined. The Garden Guy is here to tell you the panicle partnerships for the landscape are only limited by your imagination.

If you find yourself asking "What panicle ...Read more

When I was asked to trial the new Luscious Citron lantana my first thought was: Why in the world do we need another yellow lantana? But six months later, I know the answer. It has to do with butterflies. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Let’s start by looking at the color orange. There is a huge group of gardeners that think orange is too ...Read more

No color stirs the passion in serious gardeners like blue. Sure, we like orange, yellow, red and pink, but blue is the must-have color for mixed containers and baskets. It is like having sapphires in our pocket plantings by the front entrance to the home. It is for this reason The Garden Guy was eager to put Superbena Imperial Blue verbena to ...Read more

The Garden Guy is boldly going into August with geraniums blazing. I could also say I am going into August with Boldly geraniums blazing. It wasn’t too long ago that August and geraniums in the South would have been the definition of a garden oxymoron. Boldly geraniums have changed all that.

You might be wondering how that could have happened...Read more

If someone had told me that there was a heliotrope that could hang with a lantana over a long hot and wet summer, I would have said sure, when pigs fly. Well, clear Runway One because Augusta Lavender is arriving for spring 2022.

I am writing this as much for the greenhouse grower as the home gardener; this plant is a winner and put it in ...Read more

If you have thought about growing calla lilies but doubted your abilities, know this: If I can do it, you can too! I was sent some bulbs for testing in late April. My first bloom was around June 1 and I still have dozens of blooms and can see more coming, but like you, I am still doubting myself.

In my box for testing were the six varieties of ...Read more

This morning I was up early (for me) and could barely make out the plants outside. But I saw the Superbells calibrachoas moving as if a ghost were in the midst. I knew immediately it was a Ruby-throated hummingbird wasting no time in the daily feeding ritual.

Despite the Proven Winners tag mentioning hummingbirds, it has really been quite the ...Read more

Sweet Caroline Medusa Green is an architectural plant of the first order.

I know what you're thinking: Isn’t that a sweet potato?

The answer is a hearty yes, and AMEN, thank you! Sweet Caroline Medusa Green is like no other sweet potato.

Let’s chase a rabbit for a second. Do a Google search for an architectural plant and you will see ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Every weekend morning, residents of L.A.'s Leimert Park Village community can expect to see La Nola Smith tending to her succulent stand, South Central Succs, just outside the front window of the Ivory Coast Hair Salon at the corner of 43rd Street and Degnan Boulevard.

Smith, a spoken-word artist, in-home health care aide and ...Read more

"Good golly, Miss Molly. How beautiful you are."

That's just the response one of my Facebook followers wrote upon seeing my post.

This was a statement of awe about one of the best butterfly bushes in the market and not my incredible photo of a pipevine swallowtail feeding on it. But that's OK, Pat — I agree with you!

Miss Molly reaches 4 ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA – The joy of the plants that sprout from a patch of South Philadelphia earth is not merely that they remind people of home — they taste like home, too.

Many people don’t know the garden is there, in three parcels tucked in and around Eighth and Emily Streets, a short walk off busy Snyder Avenue. Nor do they know all the place...Read more

Everyone has heard that old saying: You can lead a horse to the trough, and if he doesn’t drink, make it a planter.

Just kidding.

But if you choose to jump on one of the hottest trends in the country, you can make your own jokes about some old caballo.

At the store, these containers go by names like stock tank, feed trough, water trough ...Read more

While the Pacific Northwest has gotten the most attention for its heat wave a quarter of the state of California remains in an “exceptional drought,” the most severe category possible.

Almost 98% of the land across 11 Western states is abnormally dry, and more than 90% is covered by some category of drought, the worst levels in the U.S. ...Read more

The National Garden Bureau has designated 2021 as The Year of the Sunflower. If you choose to participate, I have the plant for you: Suncredible Yellow, a new everblooming bush variety.

I wrote about this incredible variety in summer 2019, while I was growing it. In 2020 it exploded, winning 53 awards like the Perfect Score All Season from ...Read more