Blogs by Year

New for 2019, Endless Summer® Summer Crush® Hydrangeas is a drop-dead, gorgeous variety the produces an abundance of rich raspberry-red mophead blooms in late spring and reblooms through fall. Foliage is spade-shaped and glossy green with a compact habit – no pruning necessary! It stays nice, tidy and small making it ideal for smaller spaces in the garden and is the perfect size for patio containers.

An old-time favorite, sweet alyssum (also known as lobularia, pronounced lob-u-larry-uh), features an incredibly long blooming season from late spring to frost. This fabulous little plant is low maintenance, drought tolerant and produces a profusion of wonderfully scented flowers that will quickly cover beds and borders with a blanket of flowers that mix easily with other annuals and perennials. White is the most planted color, but it is available in pink, purple and apricot.

Pericallis produces a plethora of large daisy-like blooms in a unique, high-voltage color spectrum of blues and violets. These dynamite plants love cool, wet weather making them a perfect choice for early spring. The leaves are heart-shaped and range from medium to dark green. The center of the foliage is home to a rounded cluster of daisy blossoms that are a deep, blue-purple to magenta with petal bases being white around the central eye of the flower. Try planting them in the garden or in large patio containers to add vivid color in spring. Plant in full to part-sun locations.

With winter behind us, we welcome a new season with one of our favorite spring-blooming perennials, Dianthus! These re-blooming flowers give us that color we've been waiting for. Not only are they beautiful, they are also very easy to grow. The most difficult part of growing dianthus is choosing which types you want to plant. Depending on the variety, blooms begin in early spring and continue all the way until frost. Dianthus blooms may be single or double (think little carnations), and tend to be white, pink, red, rose, or lavender - available in nearly all shades except true blue.

Tomato, tomahto. Potato, potahto. If you’re here to settle a produce aisle bet on matters of semantics where edible plant varieties are concerned - 'What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable?” - you will be perhaps chagrined to learn that for many of those food pyramid superstars, the answer isn’t very simple. There’s a lot of either/either, neither/neither involved with what makes a fruit a fruit and a vegetable a vegetable and a fair amount of crossover between the two categories. Read the full article by Chowhound here

Quite possibly one of the most eye-catching evergreen shrub, camellias feature stunning rose-like flowers in shades of pink, red, and white in fall, late winter, or spring, depending on the type. They shine throughout the rest of the year with their glossy, deep green leaves and superb symmetry. They can be grown as large shrubs for use as a hedge, screen or corner plant, espalier, or 'limbed up' to form an attractive small tree. And, planting more than one species will give your garden multi-season color.

Boxwoods have been the backbone of Southern gardens for centuries and are one of the most popular shrubs in landscape design. Extensively used in both formal and more casual gardens, boxwoods are easy to grow and maintain and can be easily shaped. They make an excellent filler for gaps in the landscape or can be used to divide one portion of a yard from another. Gardeners looking for a plant that provides simple greenery with a fine texture need look no farther than boxwood.

Although plants can’t talk, they do send messages all the time — from requests for resources to warnings of trouble. And, they do so silently, communicating with visual cues, such as changes in leaf colors and shapes. If you learn to read these signs, you’ll be able to catch minor issues before they become big ones.

While it's way more fun to think about the blooms and lush lawns that spring brings... it’s never too soon to start thinking about those weeds that creep in. By starting early, you can prevent weeds from germinating in your yard this spring and keep your outdoor space in tip-top shape. The two most important things you can do for your established lawn is to apply the following:

From large, sculptural plants to charming succulence, there's a place for houseplants in every home. Green plants add textural interest, fill in drab corners, and soften architectural features, and they can enhance mood and freshen air, too. Larger sized floor plants are especially ideal when used as an accent plant or as a focal point indoors.