Author's posts
Dec 12
Hollyhock Care
Hollyhocks are classic cottage-garden flowers, sending tall spires of colorful blooms above fences, walls, perennial borders, and old-fashioned garden beds. Few plants create as much vertical drama from such a small footprint. A mature hollyhock can rise 5 to 8 feet or more, with flowers opening progressively up the stem in shades of white, cream, …
Dec 11
Bee Balm Care
Bee balm is one of the most valuable flowering perennials for a sunny pollinator garden. Its shaggy, crown-like flowers rise above fragrant foliage during summer, attracting bumblebees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other wildlife while adding brilliant shades of red, pink, purple, lavender, and white to perennial borders. The name bee balm is used for several species …
Dec 10
Coreopsis Care
Coreopsis is one of the easiest ways to add months of cheerful yellow, gold, red, pink, or bicolored flowers to a sunny garden. Commonly called tickseed, these daisy-family plants range from compact edging perennials to airy, fine-leaved plants and quick-growing annual wildflowers. Many garden coreopsis species are native to North America, making them especially useful …
Dec 09
Salvia Care
Salvia is one of the largest and most varied groups of flowering plants gardeners can grow. Depending on the species, a salvia may be a compact perennial covered with violet-blue flower spikes, a woody drought-tolerant shrub, a culinary herb harvested for its fragrant leaves, or a tender annual producing brilliant red flowers from summer until …
Dec 08
Yarrow Care
Yarrow is one of the toughest and most useful flowering perennials for a sunny garden. Its flat-topped flower clusters rise above finely divided, fernlike foliage and can continue providing color for much of summer. Traditional yarrow produces white flowers, but modern ornamental cultivars expand the palette to yellow, gold, apricot, terracotta, pink, rose, red, burgundy, …
Dec 07
Lily Care
True lilies are among the most dramatic perennial flowers in the garden, producing tall stems topped with elegant trumpet-, bowl-, or star-shaped blooms in colors ranging from pure white and soft yellow to orange, pink, red, burgundy, and richly patterned combinations. Depending on the type, lilies can flower from early summer into late summer, making …
Dec 06
Shasta Daisy Care
Shasta daisies are classic summer perennials, producing crisp white petals around sunny yellow centers on sturdy upright stems. Their simple flower shape makes them equally at home in cottage gardens, pollinator plantings, cutting gardens, and traditional perennial borders. Although the flowers look delicate, a well-established Shasta daisy can form a substantial clump that returns and …
Dec 05
Butterfly Weed Care
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a colorful North American native perennial known for its brilliant orange flowers and its ability to attract butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. Once established, this tough wildflower handles heat, drought, and relatively poor soil with little fuss, making it an excellent choice for sunny borders, native plant gardens, pollinator gardens, …
Dec 04
Blazing Star Care
Blazing star (Liatris spp.) is a distinctive North American native perennial known for tall spikes of purple, lavender, pink, or occasionally white flowers. Also called gayfeather, blazing star is especially valuable in pollinator gardens, prairie-style landscapes, cottage gardens, and sunny perennial borders. One of its most unusual characteristics is the way its flower spikes bloom. …
Dec 03
Gaillardia Care
Gaillardia, commonly known as blanket flower, is a colorful, sun-loving plant prized for its long flowering season and bold daisy-like blooms in shades of red, orange, yellow, and burgundy. The warm colors often appear in striking combinations, with red or maroon centers surrounded by petals tipped in gold or yellow. Several species and hybrids are …
