Now that we've been ordered to stay home, the surrealness of the global pandemic has set in. While many people are coming together virtually, now is a good time to tend to your houseplants. Does your Dracaena 'lemon lime' need dusting? Is your Chinese evergreen getting too much sun? Are you watering your plants too much? Or not enough? Below, we...Read more

Waiting is always hard, but when you're waiting for an unseen force that could, at any time, sicken or kill you, your family and your friends while devastating the global economy ... OMG OMG OMG ...

Well. As we said. Waiting is hard.

So take a deep breath, put down the remote and get busy outside. We've made a list of 10 garden chores that can...Read more

Americans have been showing their colors a lot since the coronavirus showed up as a special and surely unwanted spring guest. Just as red, white and blue stirs the heart and sends a message as Old Glory hangs from the door, your flowers can echo the theme throughout the landscape.

You may want to think of these floral displays as the victory ...Read more

Forced to shelter in place, most of us are coming down with a bad case of cabin fever. Instead of worrying about the future and whether that scratchy throat you woke up with this morning is something serious, plant a victory garden.

During World War II, those on the home front were dealing with food shortages and rationing, as well as fear and ...Read more

Shazam! All of a sudden everyone is thinking about growing a vegetable garden. Essentials disappearing from the local supermarket is at best a wake-up call. One thing for certain now that families are all together -- there is no better way to teach children a little horticulture, pollination and where food comes from than a vegetable garden. If ...Read more

The commercial landscape world is where the proverbial 'rubber meets the road' scenario. We can all gawk at flowers in trial gardens and get a good indication of how they will perform at home, but shopping centers and city streetscapes may be the best indicator of all.

In fact, I told my audience at the Spring Home & Garden Show in Charlotte, N...Read more

The calendar had not reached March this year and I already had my first blooms on the new Superbells Double Blue Calibrachoa. Your first thought is, "What am I doing planting so early?" The fact is, these are returning from last year's plants I was testing.

What a wild and wonderful ride we gardeners and professional horticulturists alike have ...Read more

What's the best soil to use? Whether you're gardening with containers, in raised beds or digging holes in the ground, you can't go wrong with organic potting soil. With its loamy texture, water-absorbing amendments, lots of nutrients and beneficial fungi, it mimics a healthy soil.

That's the quick fix, but if you want a successful garden, start...Read more

The best way to protect your houseplants from thrips, spider mites, mealy bugs and other pests is to make sure you care for the plants properly.

If a plant is struggling, assess its cultivation needs: Does it need full sun or filtered light? Does it thrive in warmth and prefer humidity? Is the soil too dense? Are you watering it enough? Or too ...Read more

An annual is a plant that lives and dies in one growing season. A perennial regrows and reblooms year after year.

In our busy world, why plant anything but perennials?

Because annuals are the backbone of our edible plants, said professional gardener Lauri Kranz, owner of Edible Gardens L.A.

"If you like to eat, you have to grow annuals," ...Read more

Gardening doesn't have to be expensive. But tell that to your pocketbook after you've made a trip to your local nursery or garden center.

Between the bags of special soils, tools, hoses, fertilizers, seed packets and, of course, plants, your plan to grow edibles or even a modest balcony of flowers was never going to be a budget project. Even ...Read more

One of The Garden Guy's favorite new plants making its debut in 2020 has name so unusual I had to look up the definition and gift it a little thought. It is called Unplugged. Did you know we have a National Day of Unplugging?

You can probably guess what that might mean. Getting away from all things digital for a day, going natural, nourishing ...Read more

Pickerelweed is native over a monstrously big range, from Nova Scotia to Argentina. In our country pickerelweed calls 36 states home. I assure you "Where the Pickerelweed Grows," a spectacle of nature is waiting for you to see the show.

My experience with pickerelweed can best be described as the I-95 corridor from South Carolina through ...Read more

If there was such a thing as a Super Bowl dynasty in the plant world it would have to go to Diamond Frost euphorbia. Somehow, I doubt that Proven Winners and the entire green industry knew what they had when it made its debut over a dozen years ago.

Comparing Diamond Frost to a Super Bowl or World Series dynasty is really a disservice to this ...Read more

Phil the groundhog predicted an early spring and he was right on. Groundhog Day was Feb. 2 and spring arrived at my house Feb. 3. Great Scott that was fast! I know I am slightly exaggerating but as I write this, on Feb. 3, I have the sunroom door open for any pollinators that might want to come inside and visit for a moment.

Though I have sort ...Read more

This winter we are seeing copper in baskets, containers and even landscapes all thanks to new Heuchera varieties. There seems to be nothing that today's flower breeder can't do with Heuchera or its common name coral bells.

You have to admit there is something about winter copper. Copper is a color we most often associate with fall and the ...Read more

Hats off to the National Garden Bureau for designating 2020 as the year of the lantana. If you are looking for a flower that gives vibrant color from late spring through frost, then the lantana is probably the plant for you. This does come with a WARNING. You will most likely have tigers, zebras and some flashy ladies hanging around your garden ...Read more

This has been a great year of cool-season container color thanks to the addition of a little Florida Sunshine. Your first thought might be that the cloud cover finally broke and the sun was shining ever so brightly. However, we are under rain and thunder it seems forevermore, but our mixed containers or ever so beautiful thanks to Florida ...Read more

Peacocks are showing up in the landscape this year and causing many of us to become fixated on their beauty. As you might expect, The Garden Guy is playing semantics with you. I am talking Peacock kale. The innovative commercial landscaper industry in my area has caught on to the monolithic size and beauty these plants exhibit.

I have always ...Read more