One of my favorite green business operations I follow on Facebook is Rivers Greenhouse and Garden in Brandon, Mississippi. They have a wholesale greenhouse operation and a retail garden center a couple of miles away. They are the most picturesque destination out in the country if you ever find yourself near Jackson, Mississippi. They recently ...Read more

No town will have more of a cause to join the celebration for Truffula Pink gomphrena as the Annual of the Year than Columbus, Georgia. The award selected by Proven Winners says a lot, considering they are the home of all of the Supers: Supertunia petunias, Superbells calibrachoas and Superbena verbenas.

The last few years in Columbus, Truffula...Read more

The Garden Guy has had the most fun the past few months when I show Supertunia partnerships on my Facebook page. The comments start off with "Can it compete with my Bubblegum?" and then conclude with something like "My Bubblegum will cover that plant up, chew it up and make it disappear."

So it goes with Supertunia Vista Bubblegum, which is ...Read more

Right now, it is a verbena world at The Garden Guy’s house. It is super exciting, as I forgot I had so many, and which containers had what. The growth since the December arctic blast has been simply amazing. One in particular, Superbena Imperial Blue, almost looks like a mini-hydrangea.

Superbena Imperial Blue made its debut in 2022, and I ...Read more

It’s been 15 years, maybe more, since Mezoo showed up in trials and then some really progressive garden centers. It was way ahead of its time for the succulent craze in which we now find ourselves. Many of us snickered at the time, but today we love it. and our kids in the business think they have discovered a new plant.

Come to think of it,...Read more

The Garden Guy has been working on a project, and the number I came up with is 1340. It is not my address, and the number wasn’t the assignment, but part of my own research to help me get started. That number is the total accumulation of awards won by the Supers: Supertunia petunia, Superbells calibrachoa and Superbena verbenas. That is a huge...Read more

Once upon a time, The Garden Guy was the executive director of the American Rose Society and its Gardens of the American Rose Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. My fondest memories are the times spent in the area dedicated to heirloom and English roses. The fragrance seemed to permeate the air, drawing you to investigate each and every selection ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Jeremy Lin did not want to make a nostalgia piece.

The former NBA player, whose sudden ascendance to superstardom was dubbed Linsanity, is humble about that time during the 2011-12 season. An Asian American kid born in Torrance who played college ball at Harvard, Lin is quiet, hard-working and not the kind of player, or person,...Read more

The Garden Guy always gets a smile when I present a beautiful mixed container on my Facebook page and the first response is, "Can those flowers hang in partnership with my Bubblegum?"

By that they mean, will their Supertunia Vista Bubblegum, the winner of 323 awards, cover up all the flowers I am presenting? The answer is most likely yes, and ...Read more

It's the Year of the Spirea, as designated by The National Garden Bureau, and The Garden Guy could not be happier. There is a spirea that is a landscape asset from spring through dormancy, but a lot of you simply do not know about it.

First, let’s delve into a little horticulture humor. Yes, the common name is spirea. The botanical name is ...Read more

It wasn’t until the summer of 2019 that I realized I lived in a Hydrangea paniculata forest. If you have read my columns, then you know The Garden Guy can exaggerate a little. So, to be more succinct: My neighbors all down both sides of the street have the most glorious monster hydrangeas. I, on the other hand, have the more refined Limelight ...Read more

MIAMI — Jazz in the Gardens just got a bit more soulful.

The acclaimed Miami Gardens music festival will return for its 16th iteration March 11 and 12 at Hard Rock Stadium. Boasting a lineup featuring Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Charlie Wilson and Ari Lennox, this year’s bill leans heavy into R&B and neo-soul.

“Over the years, Jazz in the ...Read more

Viva Magenta, Pantone's Color of the Year for 2023, has certainly caused a stir in the garden world. As typical of our times, there are the lovers, and the haters. Since it is a primary color, I thought I would delve into a little thought on color.

Before everyone screams, especially art teachers, I know it is not a primary color by ...Read more

Viva Magenta is the hot new color for 2023, according to Pantone, the gurus of all things color. Specifically, it is Pantone 18-1750. In the garden world, flowers will never be able to be bred so specifically so as to reach a Pantone number. We as gardeners, horticulturists, landscape and container designers, however, want to participate; we ...Read more

Dolce Appletini and Primo Wild Rose were just two of the varieties that gave The Garden Guy’s container designs a touch of heuchera heaven. Now, like you, I find myself longing for spring.

In the South, we love planting heuchera in the fall or anytime from late September through early winter. This doesn’t always sync up with retail, ...Read more