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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This year has been like the Great Begonia Awakening for The Garden Guy. First it was this year’s debut of Surefire Cherry Cordial begonia. Holy wow, it has been almost like a shrub and has persevered planted in the ground even though it is in direct assault from Tootie the bichon's daily chase of the chipmunks.

Surefire Cherry Cordial ...Read more

A Perfect Score award in a university plant trial is quite an honor and makes a real statement about performance. So consider when that same plant wins Perfect Score in a dozen states, spread across the country. Oklahoma State, University of Minnesota, Mississippi State, University of Tennessee and Iowa State to give you a sampling. Add on ...Read more

Since fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs, I want to give a shoutout to the Temple of Bloom seven-son flower.

This small tree is like the proverbial tree of life. Every pollinator in the neighborhood will find it and hang out, as well as those creatures that hunt pollinators. It is like a miniature version of the Serengeti. It has ...Read more