Regular water and fertilizer. More than anything else, that’s the key to growing big, beautiful hanging flower baskets that don’t fizzle when the heat sizzles.

Since baskets are hanging out there with all sides exposed, they dry out quickly. And since all of that watering leaches nutrients from the rather lean soilless mixes that are best used as your basket medium, the plants are counting on you to “feed” them regularly ...   >> read article

Akin to a chorus line of flamboyant show girls following each other into a high-leg kick, the really sumptuous flowers take turns unfurling their frilly petals across our gardens throughout the month of May. Which are some of the show-stopping flowers that are easy to grow? Two good choices for impact and longevity in the garden are the iris and peony.

The Iris spp. is a voluptuous flower whose name is taken from the Greek word for rainbow and has been bred into an array of colors with the exception of red.   >> read article

Sure, that orchid is beautiful, but what’s going to happen after its flowers eventually shrivel and fall off? Will it ever bloom again?

As you walked through your favorite stores this winter, I know you looked at the poinsettias, but what really caught your eye were the orchids. Phalaenopsis orchids (phals for short) come in all sizes and colors and if you were like me, you bought one. The flowers lasted for a couple of months and then started to fall off one at a time. Now the stem is bare and you are not sure if you should throw it out or try to keep it and get it to flower again ...   >> read article

If I see a plant described as “mint” in a garden center, my first impulse is, “Run, don’t buy it!” Most mints are so healthy in my garden that they are almost thugs, taking over precious space intended for other plants. One mint, though, called creeping mint or Meehan’s mint (Meehania cordata), is one you can safely grow in your garden and not lose sleep worrying it will overtake your other garden inhabitants ...   >> read article