In the best of times flowers help us celebrate the joyous occasions in our lives. In more difficult times plants give us hope and inspiration to meet life’s challenges. The role of plants and gardens in healing is ancient. As early as 3000 B.C. the Chinese were using medicinal herbs. The Greeks built a temple…
Every year, one week in June is designated as National Pollinator Week. In an effort to perpetuate a great cause, the National Garden Bureau is following up that event with some specific tips on how to plant a pollinator-friendly garden. Pollinators can include bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, bats, and beetles. Since the first three are the…
Container gardening offers many advantages that can be overlooked: containers can be less work because they can be placed closer to a water source; they offer a smaller soil area to have to weed; they can be placed at a height that can minimize bending for watering and tending; movable containers can “follow the sun”…
Delphiniums Delphinium is a perennial favorite as the tall spikes of blue flowers in the background of a stately English or cottage garden. The modern delphinium flower may be a single or double rosette in popular blue or red, pink, white, violet and yellow. Many of the flowers have white or black centers known as…
When planning a garden, think of it as a painting; some colors dominate and are spread with broad brush strokes here, while other colors will give depth and dimension with small dabs here and there. To brighten shady areas use light-colored annuals such as white, light pink or palest blues. Dark colors tend to get…
