Fall is the best time to plant trees and shrubs from the standpoint of acclimatization in the landscape. That being said, I would like to give a shout-out for an underused illicium or anise.

Throughout the South or Pacific Northwest in zones 7 and warmer, the illicium is a much-used shrub for the evergreen structure or bones of the landscape. ...Read more

October Magic camellias have captured The Garden Guy's heart in recent years with blooms that are nothing short of exquisite and of a size and vigor of plant that seems perfect for the landscape. I have had camellia sasanquas that reached the second story and took a pretty tall ladder to do a little trimming.

When you think about October, it is...Read more

A hillside of gold in the Old Town community of North Columbus not only caught my eye but enticed me to get out of the car with my camera in hand. It was a hill planted with dozens of Winterberry hollies; and despite a fall season of high heat and drought, it was creating quite a show.

Winterberry, known botanically as Ilex verticillata, is ...Read more

Monsoon Mixer and Hawaiian Big Kahuna were two plants that brought us a load of tropical joy during a long growing season that started with monsoonal rains and finished with what is now being called a flash drought.

Tropical hibiscus has a way of awakening those island thoughts that lie dormant in the hidden parts of the mind. Monsoon Mixer and...Read more

In June 2016, a woman known only as Emily Doe read a 12-page single-spaced letter inside a courtroom to the man who had sexually assaulted her behind a dumpster on Stanford's campus more than a year before.

Her statement was published online the following day and quickly emerged as a viral rallying cry for survivors of sexual violence. Now, ...Read more

Basil has stolen my heart as of late but it is probably not for what you think. It's not because the foliage such as that of Purple Ruffles as Mississippi Medallion Award Winners is as pretty as a coleus. Nor is it for the culinary delicacy provided by Siam Queen an All-America Selections Award Winner. It is for pollinators.

The fact I am ...Read more

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Engineers and executives from United Technologies Corp. got out of the office and into a Hartford community garden to celebrate a partnership with Engineers Without Borders recently.

Engineers Without Borders is a volunteer network of engineers who work to solve infrastructural and other problems in communities around the ...Read more

The most anticipated new fall flower arrived in my area and I didn't even get to see it. Let that be a warning to all of you gardeners getting ready for fall planting. The plant I am talking about is the Rockin dianthus coming out of Pan American Seed.

Though I called it the most anticipated fall flower we are talking about perennial in zones ...Read more

ATLANTA -- The national farm to school movement has grown so fast that it is challenging traditional notions of city planning, and a Clayton County, Ga., preschool is at ground zero in the conflict.

The Little Ones Learning Center in Forest Park has a nationally recognized garden-based education program. In 2015, it merited a visit by Georgia's...Read more

Flaming orange flowers always catch my eye and the old-fashioned Mexican sunflower is still one of the best. There may be a revival happening with this plant that I have failed to notice.

I belong to some Facebook groups dedicated to butterflies and pollinators and it appears the Mexican sunflowers are bringing them all across the country. It ...Read more

Years of preparation for the Fall Flower & Garden Fest, Mississippi State University's huge horticultural event in Crystal Springs, Miss., taught me the value of pinching and cutting back herbaceous plant material.

We would always count back 6 to 7 weeks before the event and usually cut plants including roses back by at least 50%. Invariably ...Read more

As my wife, Jan and I were slowly driving, doing a little house shopping, we had to bring the car to a halt as 7 large bucks ambled across the road along with one fawn. It was a sight that would make Yellowstone jealous. While I was scrambling to grab the camera, Jan looked at the situation from a different perspective, "Where is the Mother." ...Read more

In Georgia, this appears to be the year of the Joe Pye weed. Everywhere you look it is providing staggering beauty including along the 40-mile stretch of The Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Highway, in North Georgia.

If the mountains and streams don't keep you spellbound, the Swallowtail butterflies sweeping down to partake of the nectar-rich...Read more

Everblooming and bush habit, are not two adjectives or descriptors you would ever expect to give a sunflower, but that has all changed. It's called Suncredible Yellow and botanically speaking it is a Helianthus hybrid.

I planted it about three months ago right close to a clump of Rockin salvias. Amazingly it has been blooming all summer and ...Read more