Want to create a new planting, or improve a problem area and have no idea how to get started? This month I thought I’d share a design shortcut that helps me get unstuck, and allows me to run wild with any idea that pops into my head.

What can you do if you want a garden that’s less work without sacrificing beauty? The answer - fewer flowers and more foliage.

Stuck in the house, winter travels shelved. But no worries, I’ve added a good dose of the tropics to my indoor plant collection. Bring on the bromeliads.

The quest for the right plant, plotting the next project and even bemoaning my garden failures has kept me going in a year without much good news. Here's the best of 2020 in a nutshell.

 If you're strapped for time, space and energy, why not pot up leftover bulbs, tuck them away in a protected spot to force and bring inside later? It's worth doing just to get a sneak preview of spring! Here's how.

I’ve gained a new appreciation for several shrubs that remain unfazed by drought. Check out three stalwart beauties that can take just about anything you throw at them.

Don't you hate weeding areas that don’t look much better when you're done? I call this 'stupid weeding' and I'm on a mission to reduce it. Learn more about 5 beautiful, useful perennials that will save you work.

A few months ago someone asked me what advice I would give new gardeners. Here's my two cents - cultivate a sense of humor and don't give up when plants die.

Every garden comes with it's own set of challenges, success comes about when you figure out how to make it work in spite of them. Find out how one determined gardener turned an inhospitable site into a shady paradise.

Don't you wish you could bottle up all the smells of summer? Fragrance is memorable. Scents define the personality of the garden and etch their way into your memory bank. The aroma of petunias and nicotiana still take me straight back to childhood days in my grandmothers garden. Inspired by these memories,I've developed a mix of aromatic plants worth trying. 

If there was ever a time to grow your own food, this is it. Maybe you have a small garden or no place to put one. How can you get more out of the space you have? Find out how to use every available inch.

Patience and faith are being sorely tried these days, and no one knows when life is going to return to normal. As with gardening, we just have to hang on, wait for the plants to grow and have faith that they'll survive.

Right now, we need our gardens more than ever. There's nothing more hopeful than planting, and  part of the fun is trying something new. Want to indulge in a little plant porn? Here are 10 annuals to inspire you.

I'm grateful for public gardens wherever I go, but my recent trip to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) Vietnam to visit grandchildren left me doubly appreciative of what they provide.  In a city where even crossing the streeet is a hair raising experience, the tree-lined public parks provide shelter from the heat and respite from the daily hubbub. Need a little tropical eye candy? Read on. 

I'm always reading rave reviews about how easy amaryllis are to grow. Hah! What they don't tell you is that you must have the patience of a saint to get them to flower, much less rebloom. How the heck do you make that happen? Read on to find out.

Due to a badly sprained ankle and impossible winter weather, my recent activities have been confined to  the couch. When a bunch of seed catalogues arrived in the mailbox the other day, I was more than ready to indulge in a little plant porn.

As the another year rolls around to an end, I've been thinking about why I garden. There are a lot of reasons why I keep at it - I like being outside, experimenting with plants and putting them together. But the real truth isn't reasonable. I garden because I have to. Keep reading to learn more about why I'm so driven.

I trudged up to the attic and hauled out the bags of outdoor lights I stowed away last year. When I plugged them in half the strands didn't work - others are totally dead. What the heck? Many of them were brand new last year. Is this some kind of a Chinese plot to keep us all buying more?

We'll never know for sure, but instead of tossing them aside and buying new ones - find out how to fix them.

Are you trying to improve your garden but find yourself floundering around? Start with the edging. If you can nail down the plants in the front border, the rest of the bed is a piece of cake. 

You roll the dice when you're a gardener, but it's all worth it for the exquisite moments of pleasure  you experience when you create a great combination (usually accidental) or discover a terrific plant. If you want to find out about some trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals that made my summer, read on.