Choosing the right plants for a privacy screen With lot sizes shrinking and urban sprawl increasing many of us find ourselves longing for privacy and escape from noise.  Evergreen shrubs and trees can provide both.  Forethought and planning is essential for...

Planted containers can add visual appeal to any style garden or outdoor setting. With some forethought and creativity (and sometimes courage to think outside your comfort zone) you can use planters to successfully add drama, help set moods, and even solve problems....

Bird-Feeding Basics  There is something about watching birds feed that is relaxing. While I cannot explain it, I can appreciate the feeling of content.   Maybe it is watching their graceful movements, or maybe it is knowing you are enjoying the day...

Gardening can be intimidating, especially if we did not grow up with it. We watch our neighbors bring plants home, and spend Saturday planting a tree, digging out shrubs, adding new shrubs, and finish up planting trays of flowers. We watch with amazement wondering...

Peonies are stunningly beautiful, and many of us would love to grow them. Past experiences or stories of failures have us intimated and feeling like we cannot grow peonies.  Peonies are not necessarily more difficult to grow, but they do require specific...

Plants for Problem Areas In a perfect world, all the plants we love would thrive anywhere we wanted to grow them. We would have no trouble spots in our yards, and there would be no need for the following lists. But…  Here are some plant suggestions for common...

When to seed? Ideally you want your seedlings ready to be transplanted outdoors once the last chance of frost has passed. For us that is usually mid April.  Your seed packets will tell you how many weeks before last frost date to plant your seeds.  Beans and...

Mention growing roses to most gardeners, and they respond with “I would love to but…” .  We love the idea of growing our roses to enjoy, but the fear of failure often holds us back.  We are told time and time again that roses are hard to grow. While it is...