The strip of soil trapped between the sidewalk and the street is a plant torture chamber if I’ve ever seen one. Reflected asphalt heat fries everything. Soil compaction convinces the ground it’s concrete. Salt trucks dump winter slush directly onto whatever is trying to live there. Pedestrians trample it. Dogs… baptize it. Why waste cash…
Nobody remembers a subtle planter. You want some spark on your porch? Then why play it safe with predictable greenery? Load your containers with sun-loving, blindingly bright flower fireworks that can actually handle a long, hot summer. Or as I call it, flowerworks. These combos can be grown as summer annual container plantings across most…
You bought a charming little groundcover because the tag promised it was “vigorous.” Two months later, it has swallowed your prize roses, the shed, and now eyes your Prius. No need to consider a restraining order. These eleven fill awkward bare spots, look fabulous, and behave better than the usual garden thugs. Fillers Without the…
Your mail carrier spends all day passing boring metal boxes stuck in patchy turf. Let’s trade the weeds for tough, jaw-dropping blooms and give that little curbside box something better to sit in than sad grass and sunbaked dirt. One quick rule: don’t plant a curbside jungle! The mailbox still needs to be easy to…
If you’re staring at your hydrangeas wondering what on earth belongs next to them, the answer starts with where they’re growing! As a famous gardener, William Shakespeare once said: Alas, poor Hydrangea, I knew it before the cruel mildew made a spectacle of its leaves. To plant or not to plant companions nearby, that is…
Normal flowers are fine if you enjoy staring at your feet, but I prefer plants that can look me in the eye. It’s time to think big! Or at least think tall. The Long and the Short of It Nobody likes being looked down on, least of all by a plant. But these tall back-of-the-border…