Winter.

  by Jane Beggs-Joles    After a deceptively mild December, winter showed up with a vengeance in January. Freezing cold, plenty of snow, and some ice mixed in for good measure. February brought more of the same. When you’re not thinking about how much you don’t want to shovel yet again you’re likely thinking about the  promise of spring. You know what that means: a trip to the garden center.   After all, shopping for the spring garden is a lot more fun than shopping for spring clothes. Unlike 

By |2019-01-23T05:44:54-06:00January 8th, 2018|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Autumn Container Garden Recipe: Feathery Fall Fireworks

by Rochelle Greayer    Texture features large in this loosely planted arrangement that I am dubbing ‘Feathery Fall Fireworks’. Once again, I hope this inspires you beyond the typical container garden planting of mums for this fall season. My personal preference for container gardens is for plants that aren’t quite so dense and allow for a little bit of movement. I started with the cuphea Vermillionaire™ – this tough as nails plant was still alive, blooming, and quite pretty despite the last many

By |2019-01-23T05:27:35-06:00November 21st, 2017|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Calming Pastel Colored Plants For The Strawberry Tower

by Rochelle Greayer  I went two very different directions with color in my garden this year.  Near the house and on my patio, I imagined a dramatic combo of purple and red that I thought would make a moody and maybe even a slightly exotic feeling place, and out further in the garden I went with calming pastel colored plants and flowers that seemed like cheery but also relaxing mix that I could enjoy while weeding and picking vegetables.   But I’ve decided I did it all wrong.  The reds are

By |2019-01-23T05:29:15-06:00November 21st, 2017|Featured, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Where to Put the Clematis?

by Rochelle Greayer  Pictured above: ‘Sweet Summer Love' Clematis and 'Diamond Ball' Clematis   As you have probably noticed, I work with Proven Winners to test out their plants and then help you (through this website) learn more about them. Every spring this means that boxes of new plants arrive for me to plant in my garden, experiment with, generally get inspired by and ultimately write about.   This year I requested some clematis because Joanne Neale’s fantastic article about easy care

By |2019-01-23T05:30:30-06:00November 21st, 2017|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Color-Matching the House to the Garden

by Rochelle Greayer  Cute summer towns are a haven for houses with adorable little gardens.  They are always tidy and like a properly dressed lady (whose handbag always coordinates with her shoes), the plants often coordinate with the house.   I’m not exactly this type of gardener (or dresser for that matter) – I tend to either a) be too frazzled to try (and instead, I am drawn to the fashion standby of black – yes even my house is black), or b) I try to make some other bigger experiment with my

By |2019-01-23T05:31:43-06:00November 21st, 2017|Uncategorized|0 Comments

Strawberry Tower Planting 2015

by Rochelle Greayer  I am in the final stages of getting another issue of PITH + VIGOR out the door (it is in the  process of being stuffed into boxes and envelopes right now!) and now that I feel like I can,  I’ve been taking frequent gardening breaks.  It feels really good to slow down a little bit. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of plants and I am grateful for this extended spring to have  some time to get them all planted.   This year, I’ve put together a scheme for my strawberry tower

By |2019-01-23T05:32:50-06:00November 21st, 2017|Uncategorized|0 Comments