Articles Index

Dill - Growing and Using Dill

Dill is an easy to grow herb that is wonderful for the backyard vegetable garden because dill tastes best fresh. Dill plants are feathery and attractive in any garden. Tips for growing and using dill.

Growing Alliums - Ornamental Onions

Allium bulbs may resemple onions, but it's the flowers you are after with these ornamental varieties. Alliums are easy to grow and undemanding as this profile shows.

A Trailing Flower that Blooms All Season - Diascia

Diascia, or Twinspur, is a delicate trailing plant that repeat blooms throughout the summer. Diascia is a favorite in containers and hanging baskets. Growing Diascia is easy. A couple of Diascia plants will keep you in flower all season.

Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) - Growing a Tall, Late Season Bloomer

Eupatorium, joe pye, joe-pye weed, joe pie, late summer flowers

Mealy Cup Sage - Growing the Cool Blues of Salvia farinacea.

In my local garden center, mealy cup sage is known as blue salvia. Although Salvia farinacea comes in purples and whites, it’s the blue varieties that attract attention and repeat customers. This Texas native grows into a shrubby plant with tall, sturdy spikes of flowers that bloom throughout the summer. They make great cut and dried flowers too. And it’s deer resistant!

Patty Pan Squash - Growing the Flying Saucer Shaped Patty Pan Squash

Growing and using patty pan squash.

Caryopteris - They Don't Call it 'Blue Mist Shrub' for Nothing.

The name 'Blue Mist Shrub' is a great description of Caryopteris. This blue flowering small shrub is easy to grow and attracts butterflies and bumblebees by the dozens. The blue flowers of Caryopteris blend well and any garden and are especially welcome in late summer. Tips for growing Blue Mist Shrub.

Growing Cucumbers of All Shapes and Sizes

Cucumbers are grown in just about every backyard vegetable garden. Whether you grow your cucumbers for slicing or pickling, there's a world of cucumbers out there. Follow these tips to help you grow more cucumbers.

Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) - Low Growing, Evergreen Charmers

Hens and Chicks (Sempervivum tectorum) are low growing evergreen succulent plants that look a little like rubbery roses. They are considered alpine or rock garden plants, because of their hardiness and drought resistance. The original rosette, the ‘Hen’ produces tiny rosette offsets that are known as the ‘Chicks’. Hens and chicks are perfect for rocky areas and very easy to grow.

Feather Reed Grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora)

Feather reed grasses (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) and upright, clump forming ornamental grasses. Feather reed ornamental grasses are easy to grow and care fore and it's quite easy to work a few Calamagrostis into your garden design.

Growing and Caring for Rugosa Roses

Rugosa roses are known as the rugged roses. Although native to Asia, they have certain advantages for western rose gardeners, namely great cold tolerance and pest resistance. Rugosa roses are tall, shrubby plants that need room to spread out. Many are fragrant, produce colorful ‘hips’ and have vicious thorns. Here are some tips for growing and caring for rugosa roses.

Aloe Vera -Grow Aloe Vera as a Desert Plant, Houseplant or Medicinal Plant.

Aloe vera makes a good starter houseplant. It takes care of itself and thrives on neglect. If you’re luck enough to be able to grow aloe vera outdoors, you’ll be greeted by spiky late spring flowers that grow on tall stalks. But even if your aloe will be housebound, it should be with you for years. Whether you’re just starting with houseplants or want an interesting addition to your collection, try growing aloe vera.

Summer Squash: Easy, Prolific and Best Fresh From Your Vegetable Garden

Summer squash should be in every home garden. Summer squash grows easily, tastes best freshly picked and comes in varieties from acorn to zucchini. The only trick to growing great summer squash is choosing the right varieties. If you love zucchini, there are dozens to try. But summer squash doesn’t stop at zucchini. This profile of summer squash should convince you to try a few vines in your home garden.

Lady’s Mantle - Growing Lady’s Mantle (Alchemilla mollis) in the Garden.

Lady’s Mantle is an old-fashioned flower still popular today for it’s fuzzy, cupped leaves that hold water droplets after a rain and the frothy sprays of dainty yellow flowers that bloom in late spring and early summer. Lady’s Mantle is also used in making lotions and soaps. Lady’s Mantle is a long-lived perennial flower that is fairly low maintenance.

Growing Beets - How to Grow Beets in the Home Garden

Beets are a fast growing crop that can be grown just about anywhere. Although beets are known as a root crop, all parts of the beet plant are edible. Grow beets in the garden in spring and fall and have them to eat all year.

Growing Giant Fleece Flower (Persicaria polymorpha)

Giant Fleece Flower (Persicaria polymorpha) is a showy perennial with large white plumes that grows up to 6' tall and almost as wide. Giant Fleece Flower is widely adaptable and easy to grow. Here are some tips for growing Persicaria polymorpha.

Comfrey: Growing Comfrey - A Useful and Ornamental Herb

Growing comfrey in home gardens is as easy as planting and stepping back. Comfrey grows well in most any sunny spot with a rich soil. Comfrey plants are as useful as they are ornamental. Here are some tips for success in growing comfrey in your garden.

Okra - Growing Okra in the Backyard Vegetable Garden

Okra is grow for its long, pointed seed pods, which are used in gumbos and soups. Okra is a warm season vegetable that can easily be grown in home vegetable gardens. Its flowers resemble hibiscus and okra makes a nice ornamental plant as well.

Radishes - Growing Radishes in the Home Vegetable Garden

Even the humble globe-shaped radish offers a good amount of variety. They can be round or oblong, hot or mild, red, pink, purple, white or bi-colored. Radishes are quick growing and fairly easy, if you follow a few radish growing guidelines.

Calendula - Growing and Using the Flowering Herb Calendula or Pot Marigold

Calendula, or "Pot Marigolds", are known for their cheery bright flowers and profuse blooming. They are most commonly thought of as yellow and orange, but there are more subtle pink and cream varieties of Calendula. Calendula is often used in cooking and herbal medicine, although the bright petals of pot marigold add more color than flavor. Here's how to grow you own Calendula.

Bleeding Heart Plants (Dicentra) - Growing Flowering Bleeding Heart in the Garde

Bleeding Heart plants (Dicentra) are spring blooming flowers for a shady part of the garden. Bleeding Hearts are perennial plants with heart shaped pink or white flowers with a tear shaped drop at the bottom. Bleeding Heart can be grown in many areas and will self-sow in cooler climates. Bleeding Heart plants combine beautifully with other spring blooming flowers.

Growing Oregano: An Oregano by Any Other Name, Would Not Taste as Sweet

Growing, harvesting and using oregano is easy, but sometimes confusing. Plants in the genus Origanum are can be perennial ground covers, tender perennials or even small perennial subshrubs. There is much confusion over what type of oregano to use in cooking, but there is no disputing the flavor when you taste it. This Plant Profile of 'Oregano' will help you make sense of which type of oregano to grow for your needs.

Pansies - Growing a Cool Weather Favorite

Pansies are probably the most popularly grown and most recognizable cool season plant. The variety of colors and the cheerfulness of the pansy’s ‘face’ have made them a long standing favorite. And they’re easy and undemanding to grow. Here are some tips to keep your pansies growing and blooming longer.

Lamb's Ears - Growing These Soft, Fuzzy Garden Favorites

Lamb's Ears are popular in gardens because of their soft, inviting texture. They are very easy to grow almost anywhere. This profile of Lamb's Ears, Stachys byzantina, gives you their preferences and recommends varieties for your garden.

Pothos - An Easy to Grow Houseplant, Pothos

Pothos is arguably the easiest houseplant to grow. Pothos is tolerant of low light conditions and erratic watering. Pothos are also high on the list of plants that can help purify indoor air. Here's how to keep your pothos growing.