Anticipating Shade Needs

Trees are among our most permanent landscape plants. Some can live and enhance a landscape for over 100 years. It’s important that you select shade trees carefully, as you’ll be planting them not only for yourself, but for future generations as well.

The 10 Garden Catalog Rules

Most of us hate rules, myself included…so why does the title of this article contain the word “rules”? Actually, they’re not so much “rules” per se, but guidelines to help make the most of the garden catalog perusing experience and application for better outdoor living in the landscape.

Late Fall Color in the Landscape

As we ease into winter, late November keeps our attention focused on a few plants that exhibit great color even though a few hard freezes have been delivered.

Don’t Plant This at Home

The common phrase – “Don’t try this at home” refers to all sorts of actions from pro wrestling to theatre and even television shows such as America’s Got Talent.  The common thread to all of these is an element of danger, or at least something more exciting than common sense and safety.   Don’t try…

Mulching – Timing and Products

Weeds are a given.  They’re a true guaranteed item in a field of gardening and lawn care variables.  In lawn care, common sense turf practices and herbicides can be used to create a relatively weed free part of the landscape.  In landscape beds, we turn to mulch. The key to mulch effectiveness is to apply…

Rose of Sharon for Fall Color

Let’s face it – most of our flowering shrubs are showy in spring.  Viburnum, dogwood, spirea, forsythia and lilac sport hues of yellow, white, pink and purple in April, May and June.  While this is a welcome change from the drab grey of March, once the color is gone in spring, we’re left with a…

You Can’t Plant That Here aka Right Plant, Right Place

I see it every day.  Wrong Plant, Wrong Place.  Perhaps it’s an occupational hazard.  Maybe job security.  Maybe just (as the Spanish speakers say) “así es”, or “it is, what it is”.   On a recent trip, in a location known for “good horticulture”, I ran across some good, er, bad examples.  There were trees…