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

by Jane Beggs-Joles  (left to right: Little Henry® Itea, Kodiak® Diervilla)Is there anything nicer on a warm summer day than a spot under a shade tree? Maybe a spot under ashade tree with a good book and a cold beverage. But welcome as it is in the heat of the summer, shadecan be a challenge for gardeners.The secret is to embrace the shady areas in your landscapes. Stop trying to wish sun loving plants intogrowing in shade; there are plenty of shade tolerant plants that will thrive in these

It’s late July and officially ‘late season’ for plant buying. (Don’t worry! – you get another chance for regular season planting in the early fall). In many parts of the country, this is a good time to find sales on perennials – particularly on those that have already peaked (i.e. bloomed) earlier in the season. Garden center and nursery visits are one of the best things about being a garden designer. I’ve often thought I could make a whole business just leading clients around a well stocked

I generally feel like I can’t do much of anything about of a whole host of things that concern me (Guns, Breixit, Trump, Global Warming…I’d rather not go on…).  But small measures add up and usually lead to big change – the garden quickly reminds me of that. I have a large garden and 11 years ago I arrived to a couple of nice patches where soil had obviously been imported and dug in deeply. But otherwise it was mostly a discouragingly rocky, acidic, dry hilltop. History tells me that this whole

 My husband is not a gardener – but over the years I’ve learned that there are few things I can do entice a little interest. Mostly, they involve enormity. Huge fruits. Big flowers. Massive harvests. But, as the tiniest bit of appreciation for the beauty of our garden has crept over him recently, I thought I might seize the opportunity to go a little deeper – to see if maybe, some other more nuanced plants might also be interesting. My goal was not only to expand his interest in my favorite

We’ve had two straight weeks of rain and constant drizzle and I still can’t get that grass to take root. Stick a fork in it – I’m done. That grass isn’t the nice easy stuff that grows just about anywhere else in my garden – all I need to do is spread a little seed. That grass (pronounced through the gritted teeth of frustration) is the culmination of a few years of trying every gimmick, variety, and installation method the turf grass industry offers, and still, I look out upon a couple of weedy