Summer

Starting Up With Succulents

Succulents are charming plants and can be a great addition to your household jungle. Learning more about these popular plants can help you give them the best growing environment so they are sure to thrive and show off their unique foliage, amazing colors and fascinating structures. What Are Succulents? If you are familiar with aloe,...  Read More

Light Up Your Landscape

When the sun goes down, your landscape doesn’t need to go dark with it. There are many energy-efficient, attractive options for landscape lighting that can showcase your favorite specimen plants, prized flowerbeds and unique landscaping features even long after dark. Why We Need Light Plants don’t need light 24 hours a day, so why is...  Read More

Gussy Up the Veggie Garden

A vegetable garden is the ultimate in practical landscaping, and a thriving veggie patch can not only be a bountiful supplement to a grocery budget, but also an enjoyable hobby and great exercise as you sow seeds, nurture plants and take up your delicious harvest. One thing a vegetable garden does not need to be,...  Read More

Grow a Salad in a Single Pot

You don’t need a large, sprawling garden to enjoy a crisp salad fresh-picked from your own plants. With careful choices and proper care, you can grow a healthy, delicious salad in just one pot! Best Pots for Growing Salads Ideally, larger pots with ample room for a variety plants are best for growing container salads....  Read More

Plant a Patriotic Flower Garden

A patriotic flower garden can be a great way to show off your national pride, support a military serviceman or servicewoman, or just add decorative flair to your yard or landscaping for summer holidays. With careful steps, your flower garden can be filled with red, white and blue pride for the entire neighborhood to enjoy....  Read More

The N-P-K of Fertilizer

Once upon a time, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary grew her garden with silver bells and cockleshells, but nowadays, most gardeners use some other forms of fertilizer that are better formulated than nursery rhymes.  Read More

Watering When Away

It’s vacation time! You’re going to be gone for two weeks or more, your friends, neighbors and family members are all busy and the weatherman says it's going to be “hot, hot, hot.” What about your houseplants?  Read More

Summer Gardener’s Calendar

Continue planting trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, vegetables and herbs. Consider adding some exotic color to your deck or patio with tropical blooming plants. We have a great selection of color this summer. It’s time for your houseplant’s summer vacation! Take outside to a shady place. Repot if necessary, fertilize and check for pests and diseases....  Read More

Basil: King of the Herbs

It's edible, a member of the mint family and ornamental. Grown for over 5,000 years, it flavors foods around the world and is well-known in many household kitchens... Have you guessed yet?  Read More

Sunflowers

Grow one of the oldest American cultivated plants and join the Incas and Aztecs who grew – and revered – sunflowers more than 4,600 years ago.  Read More

Color Combinations

It can be tempting to create a rainbow of riotous shades in container gardens, but are they as pretty as you imagine? Too many colors can be distracting and disjointed, giving your containers a haphazard, messy look.  Read More

Summer Blooming Trees

When choosing flowering trees for the landscape, we often tend to make our selections from the long list of ostentatious spring blooming trees that are all so common and familiar in every yard. At the same time, we tend to overlook the more reserved, yet exceptionally elegant, summer blooming trees that can add so much drama and beauty to every space.  Read More

Perennial Flowering Vines

Vines are valuable and versatile plants that provide a remarkable vertical display while using minimal ground space. Offering an extensive mixture of decorative foliage, flowers, fruits and fragrance, vines are generally fast-growing, relatively pest-free and require minimal maintenance.  Read More

Of the Variegated Variety: Variegated Shrubs for the Landscape

Variegated shrubs can brighten up a dull or shady border and add interest in the garden when flowers are scarce but more drama is desired. But which variegated shrubs are best for your landscape, without creating too much patterning or distractions?  Read More

Naturescaping With Regional Perennial Wildflowers

There’s no need to sacrifice beauty when designing or redesigning your yard or garden to be more nature-friendly. Naturescaping is an approach to garden and landscape design that will help save time, money and energy while providing an attractive and healthy habitat for wildlife and people.  Read More

Growing Zucchini

Zucchini is one of the most popular vegetables choices for growing in the home garden. Not only is zucchini easy to grow, it is also tasty and nutritious, as well as versatile in a number of recipes. All summer squash, including zucchini, are rich in beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamins C and E and numerous healthful minerals.  Read More

The Cottage Garden

English in origin, the primary function of the cottage garden was for growing vegetables, fruit and herbs for the home. Most herbs were used for medicinal purposes while the vegetables and fruit were a food source.   Read More

Protecting Trees From Drought Stress

Summer can be the most stressful time of year for landscape plants with heat and drought being the main offenders. When not receiving sufficient moisture, plants are much more susceptible to insect and disease damage.  Read More

Butterfly Bush

What could be more enjoyable than relaxing in your favorite lawn chair or hammock, your sunglasses on and a cool beverage in hand, staring at an enchanting array of colorful butterflies milling around their favorite plant? What could possibly be an easier way to accomplish this vision than by planting a simple butterfly bush?  Read More

Sedum: A Sunny Ground Cover Solution

Is your landscape afflicted with poor, low-quality soil? Areas of scorching sun? A problematic bank or steep drop? Sedums can be the answer!  Read More

What a Knock Out!

Think you don’t have the time to take on all the upkeep, maintenance and care beautiful roses require? We have a fabulous solution and it’s a knock out, a Knock Out® rose that is. This shrub rose is the single greatest sensation to hit the plant market in years!  Read More

Summer Lavenders

Do you enjoy making herbal or floral bouquets and wands to scent the house? Maybe you're into the lavender cooking trend or like to infuse playful summer drinks with a floral touch. Perhaps you recognize the aromatherapy or medicinal qualities of lavender.  Read More

Adding Nighttime Garden Accessories & Accents

You can enjoy much more than plants in your garden every evening and into the night, and in fact the right accessories can beautifully enhance your garden even as twilight falls. Consider these stunning accessories and accents to turn your daytime garden into a nighttime paradise.  Read More

Think Outside the Window Box

Do you want to add more plants to your yard but think you're out of space for any more gardening? No matter how large or small your outdoor living area, no matter what types of plants you favor, you can always find the space for a new garden when it's housed in a container – and that container doesn't have to be the same old window box or boring planter  Read More

The Cotinus Craze

Smoketree, the common name for the genus Cotinus, aptly describes the hazy, smoky look of the flowers sported by this fabulous plant. Best described as a deciduous large shrub or small tree, Cotinus boasts species with varying heights, unique summer flowers, outstanding fall color and low maintenance requirements, all features that can make it an excellent addition to your landscape.  Read More

Battling the Bugs of Summer

In the summer months, insects can take their toll on your plants if you are not on the alert for problems. If the right product is used at the right time and under the right conditions, however, pesticides can be reduced to a minimum and your plants will be well-protected.  Read More

Tropical Outdoor Living Room

This year, discover the pleasure of tropical plants by transforming your courtyard, balcony, flat roof or deck into a wonderland oasis. If you haven’t experienced the hot colors and unusual textures of plants like mandevilla, dipladenia, stephanotis, passion vine, bouganvillea, oleander, hibiscus, lantana and Pandora’s vine, you’re in for a treat!  Read More

Blossom End Rot

Nothing is more disheartening than grabbing a beautiful tomato only to find the entire bottom is soft, black and rotten. Blossom end rot (BER) affects tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash and melons.   Read More

Choosing Evening Plants for Fragrance, Color and More

Plants don't have to be hidden away at night, and there are many different plants that can be dramatic in the evening or well after dark. While the most obvious way to enhance the darkness is to use flowers that are light or white in color, you can also add plants with fragrant flowers or foliage.  Read More

Vegetable Gardening Tidbits

Are you ready to make the most of your vegetable garden? Try these tips and tidbits for everything from easier weeding to stopping pests to enjoying a hearty harvest!  Read More

Small Shrubs for the Perennial Border

Adding structure and an aspect of year-round permanence to any yard, small shrubs are excellent for enhancing the perennial border. Thought of as the spine and bones of good landscaping, small shrubs hold the soft body of flowers together and add consistency between areas.  Read More

Crazy for Coneflowers

Beautiful and dependable, Echinacea purpurea, or purple coneflower, is the crowning glory of the summer perennial garden. A member of the Aster family, all Echinacea species are native to North America. The genus Echinacea is derived from the Greek ‘echino’ meaning hedgehog, a reference to the spiny center disc flowers.  Read More

Wise Watering

Periods of drought, heat waves and rising water bills can make any gardener more interested in saving water. Fortunately, there are many ways you can be water-wise without skimping on the moisture your plants need to thrive.  Read More

Grasses With Gusto

Ornamental Grasses lend a unique dimension to any landscape with their texture, sound, motion and architecture. By planting ornamental grasses, you can also add multi-seasonal excitement to your landscape.  Read More

Daylilies… Easy to Grow, Fun to Collect!

Few perennials can match the daylily (Hemerocallis) for versatility and durability. One of the most popular perennials, daylilies have become a collector plant for novice and experienced gardeners alike.  Read More

Dealing with Powdery Mildew

One of the most common and easy to recognize plant diseases, powdery mildew, is caused by fungus spores that overwinter in garden debris and are spread by wind the following season. In late spring and early summer, the warmer days and high humidity provide perfect conditions for spore germination.  Read More

Simple Water Features for Small Spaces

A simple water feature can make a large impact even in small spaces. The addition of a container water garden will transform, beautify and diversify your existing garden into an oasis that brings relief during the dog days of summer and beyond.  Read More

Fabulous Hydrangeas for Show-Stopping Summer Color

Hydrangeas and are widely acclaimed for their large, showy blossoms that lend fabulous color to gardens from mid- to late summer. Their luxuriant dark green foliage offers a striking background to their large round or smooth blossoms.  Read More

Perennials for the Cutting Garden

The classic gardener’s dilemma is whether to cut flowers for enjoyment or leave them to look nice in the garden. Often, removing flowers from the border can make it less attractive and leave an unsightly hole in the overall garden design.  Read More

Garden Accents

Landscape accents have become increasingly popular as many of us have discovered the joys of outdoor living. Used creatively, accents can turn your garden into a magical wonderland. This summer, we invite you to view our many new and exciting garden accent product lines, including popular items such as...  Read More