Virtues: We love ‘White Lancer’ feathergrass for its long, abundantly flowering white seed heads that resemble soft pipe cleaners waving above the billowing foliage.
‘White Lancer’ feathergrass
Author Archives: Emily Dydo
Is a Brown Lawn a Dead Lawn?
Advice that’s debatable: Water enough to keep grass green because a brown lawn is a dead lawn. Every summer, at least one person in every neighborhood lets the grass turn brown. People start grumbling about what a shame it is … Read Article
Protecting Your Trees from Lightning
Question: A neighbor recently lost an old, beautiful tree to lightning. How can I protect my trees? Predicting which trees are likely to be struck by lightning is difficult. Studies have shown that ash, elm, oak, maple, poplar, pine, and … Read Article
Temari Patio Blue verbena
Virtues: We love Temari Patio Blue verbena for its bushy, more upright growth habit than typical annual verbenas, which makes it a unique cultivar for patio pots and the garden beds. Temari produces bountiful, bright bluish-purple flowers that cascade over … Read Article
Solutions for Managing Water
Effective water management often means the difference between gardening success or failure. Too much water, and the roots of your plant suffocate and die, or are subject to invasion by root rot fungi. Too little water, and your plant will … Read Article
Zahara Double Fire zinnia
Virtues: We love Zahara Double Fire zinnia for its spectacular scarlet-orange, double blooming flowers.The dense, bushy plant is a continuous bloomer from late spring until frost.
Creative Garden Uses for Terracotta Pots
This week’s gardening tip is excerpted from Handmade Garden Projects (Timber Press, 2011) by Lorene Edwards Forkner. My collection of hundreds of small terracotta pots once belonged to a friend and next door neighbor. Gordon was a nursery man of … Read Article
Varieties of Summer-Blooming Azaleas
Question: I heard about some special azaleas that bloom in the summer. Can you tell me what they are and where I can find them? Answer: In the eastern woodlands of the United States, several species of deciduous azaleas bloom … Read Article
Tips for Success with Structures
The following tip of the week is excerpted from The Nonstop Garden (Timberpress, 2010) by Stephanie Cohen and Jennifer Benner.
Q & A | How to Tell When a Watermelon is Ripe
Question: How can I tell when a watermelon is ripe? Knowing the variety and the days to maturity will give you a ballpark figure for when you should begin checking for maturity.
Blue Velvet St. Johnswort
Virtues: We love Blue Velvet St. Johnswort for its lustrous, fragrant blue-green leaves and vibrant yellow blooms with “fiber-optic” centers.