Due to the National Gardening Bureau declaring 2021 the Year of the Hardy Hibiscus, I find myself back once again visiting these reliable and late blooming perennial and shrubby plants. For color well into the end of summer, they are hard to beat. Let’s start with the perennial form first…
Love It Or Leave It
6 Steps To Successful Summer Planting
Now that the summer weather has arrived, it never fails that someone will ask me: “Can I still plant now or should I wait until the fall?” For the record, as a landscape contractor in the Sacramento Valley where it was routinely 85 to 105 degrees, I planted all summer long and never lost a single plant. You can have the same success rate by following my directions…
Challenges & Opportunities: Fried Shrubs, Burnt Baskets & Fabulous Tropicals
Summertime in the northwest is a great gardening time. There is lots of sunshine and warm soils to make plants grow, and as long as we remember to water, we can have some amazingly productive veggie gardens and luxurious landscapes (or at least some bodacious containers). Here are a few random comments to consider on the above topics…
The Secrets Of Proper Summer Watering
Love, It's What Makes A Garden
Hardy Fuchsias Are A Blooming Machine!
4 New Fabulous Ninebarks To Brighten Up The Garden
Here's A List Of Garden To-Do's For The Month Of June
Recently, I was browsing through my past columns looking for ideas when I came across my very first monthly check list, written in June 2001, 20 years ago. I have spilled a lot of ink since then, but the idea of a list of chores for every month of the year still seems useful. That being said, here are some thoughts to ponder…
Speaking as a self-proclaimed “plantaholic” who likes just about all things with foliage, fronds, or needles, one plant I started to salivate over in the 1990’s was Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia sp.). For us in northern latitudes, these mythical plants were uncommon and were perceived as…