You’re not you when you’re hungry, and neither is your shade garden. Impatiens grow fast and burn out just as quickly. Most people forget that speed requires fuel. Don’t be like most people! Grab a spoon. If you’re still filling out a shady spot, we also have a guide on flowers that grow better in…
A wild Black-Eyed Susan thrives in a gravel ditch on a diet of exhaust fumes and misery. You tuck it into a cozy garden bed, and three years later? The middle starts going bald while the edges strangle your other plants, and suddenly your “easy perennial” is acting like it owns the deed. It’s a…
I’ve spent more time arguing with stubborn soil and dramatic shrubs than I have talking to actual people lately, so yeah, I can give it to you straight. Azaleas are gorgeous when they’re happy, but they’re not the kind of shrub you can ignore and hope for the best. If you want stronger roots, brighter…
One of my friends, a professional engineer but amateur gardener, once said: clematis are high-output machines with terrible cooling systems. She started talking about root-zone thermoregulation and nutrient density; all I heard was blah blah blah… What I do know from growing them is this: keep their roots cool, water them deeply, feed them like…
Every spring, the internet collective decides a handful of magnesium sulfate cures everything from pests to a bad marriage. It won’t… Epsom salt is a cheap compound, not a miracle powder handed down by Demeter herself! And yet, nine plant groups can actually benefit from it if you apply it the way the gods of…
My garden is currently a multi-generational daycare. I brought home a fresh baby lavender this year, already full of flowers. Then there are the two teens from two years ago, hitting their awkward growth-spurt phase. Finally, I have the gnarled senior lavenders I married into. They kept me quite busy last weekend, so if this…