I’ve got big plans this spring (I know I am speaking as if it is still coming – when in fact, it already came, flitted around for a few minutes, left, came back, left again, and maybe just might now be making a real grand entrance, today). Last weekend was going to be my first get-outside-and-get-my-hands-dirty day…. and then this happened:My garden in Harvard, MA, April 5th, 2016. It actually got much deeper by the time it was all done…  nearly 8″ deeper.  So I had at least one more weekend to

 by Jane Beggs-Joles  Pictured Above: Cityline® Vienna Hydrangea macrophylla Mother’s Day is coming, and you know what that means: finding something nice for Mom. Trust me, Mom doesn’t want another scented candle or a box of chocolates that she’ll be expected to share. She wants flowers. And why should she settle for a mere bouquet of flowers when she could enjoy a garden plant that will flower for years to come? Mom taught you the value of a dollar, didn’t she?Hydrangeas are a popular choice

  by Rochelle Greayer    As we clean up the garden this weekend, I found myself repeatedly coming back to visit the Gatsby Pink® Oak leaf Hydrangea that I planted earlier this year. They are still small and too new and immature to have bloomed this year, but that hasn’t stopped them for putting on quite a show in the autumn – despite their still-small stature.   Described as mahogany red, the color is as richer and deeper than anything else in my colorful fall garden. I really can’t wait to see

by Rochelle Greayer    Autumn has arrived and even though the summer seems to be hanging on, it is time to think about making a few decorative changes around the house (both inside and out) to welcome the crisper air, the fall harvest, and most colorful season of all.  Every year, Pantone announces, with much fanfare, the color of the year for the following year. The announcement is the precursor of a trend and it is a predictor of the mood that product colors and fashion will take for the

by Rochelle GreayerYears ago, when the Perennial Plant Association named Baptisia australis their plant of the year for 2010, I promptly bought five and planted them in my garden.  They were new-to-me at the time and they were lauded for being low maintenance and long lived. Perfect.Then, the next spring, I accidentally weeded out every single one of them.It is hard to recover from gardening disasters like that.  I didn’t even realize my mistake until months later when I wondered where my ‘new’

by Kerry Ann MendezAs a garden designer and popular lecturer, I get feedback from thousands – no, tens of thousands – of gardeners who crave high-impact, low-maintenance gardens. They want ‘drop-dead’ gorgeous plants that also benefit pollinators without requiring a lot of water, fertilizer or handholding….and that don’t drop dead after being planted. Here are some of my ‘Beauty and Brawn’ perennial picks: Dianthus ‘Paint The Town Magenta’ and ‘Paint the Town Fuchsia’ These drought tolerant,

by Susan MartinAs the gardening season comes to a close, now is the time to look back and reflect on all of the things your garden has taught you this year. What are you thankful for this November? Here are a few ideas to help you get your list started.I’m not sure what it is about autumn that stirs something inside me and spurs on the emotions of feeling thankful. Maybe it’s the approaching holidays, or maybe it’s the warm fall colors juxtaposed against cerulean blue cloudless skies. As I rake

by Jane Beggs-JolesSure, sometimes it’s great to go big. Nachos, for instance. Small is just a couple of sad tortilla chips on a plate.But sometimes going big isn’t the right call. This is especially true for plants. We’ve all seen the yard with a huge tree blocking the front window. That cute little Colorado blue spruce grew up to be a forest-sized specimen, and a suburban yard is not big enough for its magnificence.Luckily, plant breeders have done some great work developing smaller versions

by Rochelle GreayerIt goes with the territory that get to try out lots of new plants. Most are nice – but if they can’t pass muster then they don’t stand a chance of getting a write up here.Definition of Passing Muster:They have to survive and thrive without any special care, which might not even include regular watering.I’m tough to please when it comes to low maintenance but still looking nice and thriving.This fall (2016), follows an unseasonably hot and dry summer. Lots of plants struggled

by Jenny Peterson I come from a family of gardeners. I’m a garden designer, and I write and speak about gardens as well. So it might seem natural that after I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012, I reached for my garden to help me through it.Except, in the beginning, I didn’t. I was so shocked at how my surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation impacted me with nerve damage, lymphedema, and the mood roller coaster that at first, I was kind of frozen and stayed inside. But little by little, I