They bloom in spring, summer, or fall, depending on their group, and put on a magnificent floral show once established. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Not only does it ensure masses of blooms each year, but it’s also needed to establish strong, healthy growth that produces multiple stems loaded with blossoms along their entire length....

Instead of fighting tooth and nail, they fight by parasitizing each other and producing chemicals that help to compete against other microbes. The genus Streptomyces is well known for its production of antibiotics, which make the species excellent competitors in the soil. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. In recent years, these organisms have found use in agriculture to outcompete plant pathogens....

The temptation is to pull on a jacket, take a spade out there, and get started. But you need to stop yourself from jumping straight in without thinking – and make sure the soil is ready for working first, along with a few other important spring preparations. What are some things you should look out for, or even prepare for, come springtime in your garden? Let’s take a look to get you ready for the new gardening season....

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. That password is: Felco F-2. Okay, you got me. There is no secret password. But if there was one, you could bet your bottom dollar that it really would be Felco F-2. As far as pruners go, there is no other choice for the beginning, serious, or professional gardener....

They add delightful beauty and fragrance to the garden and deliver amazing flavors for beverages, the grill, and your favorite recipes. Highly aromatic with pretty flowers, they also attract helpful pollinators to the garden, like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. And they make the best companion plants, adeptly driving away pests from flower beds and vegetable crops with their intense essential oils. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

It’s so fun! Each one hides its contents like little prizes earned from all the nurturing you provided through the growing season. Well, if you didn’t have that experience in childhood, there’s still time to make up for that as an adult. And the best part is – a garden isn’t even necessary to enjoy it! Sneak a few fresh, sweet peas into your mouth when no one is looking....

It is a popular indoor houseplant because of the profusion of blooms that appear between Thanksgiving and Christmas, depending upon the variety. Sometimes plants develop hair-like growths between their stem segments, or cladodes. These are called aerial roots. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. In this article, we talk about aerial roots on Christmas cacti, and what they may mean to the home gardener....

This plant species breakdown will focus on two of the most common selections from the genus, French (L. dentata) and English (L. angustifolia). We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. To learn more about adding these fragrant perennials to your landscape or garden, check out our guide on how to grow lavender. L. dentata and L....

But to reach that harvest-ready state, you must carefully choose when to plant bok choy, also known as pak choi, or by its botanical name: Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis. The crisp stalks and slightly peppery leaves of this member of the mustard family grow best in cool weather, at temperatures between 55 and 70°F. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

Case in point: When zucchini drop their blossoms instead of producing squash to harvest and eat. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Here’s what I’ll cover: 3 Reasons Zucchini Blooms Drop The sight of a bright blossom on your zucchini plant inspires such joy. Soon you’ll be picking an endless supply of green, gray, or golden fruits, right?...

When you think of this common root vegetable, what comes to mind first is probably the bog-standard orange variety. But there is so much more to these veggies than you might think! We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Here’s what’s to come in this article: Read on to find out more about the best varieties to grow in your garden!...

In this article, we focus on 13 companion plants that share cultural requirements and stature with late season varieties. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Let’s start with some aster basics, and then meet our new friends. They thrive in full sun with organically-rich soil that is slightly acidic and drains well. Water needs are moderate, and plants usually exhibit above average drought tolerance once established....

Maybe it’s time to start your flower and vegetable seedlings. Perhaps your houseplants are drooping during the short days of winter, or sulking in a new home. Or maybe you simply want to enjoy the taste of your own fresh herbs year round. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. They can provide any color spectrum required for every stage of growth and are easy to set up....

This guide will take you on a tour of 29 different varieties to choose from. It will help you in your decision-making process, so you can pick the hoya (or three) that will bring you the most joy – and that will adapt well to your growing conditions. We’ll have a look at where each of these species comes from, but more importantly, what they look like – including leaf color, texture, and pattern, as well as flower colors....

With a variety of different sizes and power options available, there’s a lot to consider before you make your purchase. Big, self-propelled, two stage machines are great for large snow drifts and heavy, wet conditions – or if you’re one of those generous types that likes to clear for your neighbors too. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

The blooms have a composite structure made up of a central disk of florets surrounded by petal-like rays. Many of the plants we commonly call asters belong to other botanical genera, including Doellingeria, Eurybia, Ionactis, and Symphyotrichum. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. When we speak of asters, we refer primarily to perennials, but there is also an annual species, the China aster, Callistephus chinensis....

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. What Is Ornamental Kale? Ornamental Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is part of the Brassica family, along with cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. Genetically, it’s the same as the culinary type that we love to eat. However, it’s been hybridized to look more like a flower with purple, pink, and/or white leaves....

Often overlooked in the home garden, they offer an easy and economical method of improving your garden’s productivity while it lies fallow in winter. They’re an excellent, natural way to increase nutrients, condition the soil and improve its texture, protect against erosion, and suppress weeds at the same time. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

Besides the decreasing temperatures, wintertime is when everything slows down, so to speak. Many animals go into hibernation, while nearly all plants stop growing and greatly reduce their metabolic activity. These dormancy protocols enable organisms to conserve resources and better survive these cold, barren conditions. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Proper care for these carnivorous lifeforms will also make their subsequent return to growth all the more vibrant and vigorous....

Most prominent in cool weather, it typically subsides when conditions become dry. The disease manifests as small, superficial, reddish-purple lesions on the lower half of new spears. In addition, tan to brown lesions can form on the needle-like leaves of the ferns. Fortunately, affected plants are edible, and the spots disappear during cooking. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....