Focus on Flowers

There are many common names for the pink lilies, Amaryllis belladonna, that pop up in our gardens during the hot days of August/September: naked ladies, magic lily, autumn lily, surprise lily, and resurrection lily.

Native to the Far East, crepe myrtles can be trees or but in my zone 6 garden, they usually die back to the ground each winter.

The winter-blooming clivia plant is one of the very few house plants that will produce flowers indoors in the dead of winter.

If you are looking for deer resistant shrubs to plant in your unfenced yard, the safest evergreens are spruce, juniper, and boxwood.

Early on, I longed for all the more pretentious perennials, but now I prefer the tried and true.

Angelonia produces stalks of little flowers, similar to stock flowers, that last a long time on the plant, flowering steadily all through till late summer.

The plant has the unfortunate common name of "tickseed," derived from the Greek word "Koris," meaning bed bug.

This black-eyed Susan is a plant that we can all grow and that will be with us for as long as we garden.

Our Midwest Hibiscus moscheutos, (a.k.a. swamp mallow), is an herbaceous plant that has flowers that look so exotic that it seems tropical, but it is hardy zones 5-9.

Gayfeather (Liatris spicata) is a lovely native plant that attracts butterflies, bumble bees, and other insects.

Xeroscaping is the term for gardening while conserving water.

The original perennial coneflowers were pink, but many new cultivars have been developed.

A mix of annuals, biennials, perennials, and shrubs ensures that your cutting garden always has something in bloom.

Peter Rabbit is cute, but he can be a problem for gardeners, especially when seedlings and small plants are available, and he wants them for his dinner!

Native perennials are an essential part of our ecosystem and support wildlife. Some are more likely to thrive in our region than others.

Monarch butterflies like to eat various species of milkweed, which have a bitter juice, that makes their caterpillars unappealing to predators.

If you want to get more plants from your existing flowering plants, a good way is to take cuttings.

The degree of shade is an important factor in gardening, and usually for flowering plants, partial shade is the best.

In warm climates, the showy, brightly colored bougainvillea vines romp over walls, fences, and even buildings, brightening landscapes with their vivid colors.

Both perennial and annual candytufts make excellent rock garden and edging plants.

The Star of Bethlehem name probably dates from the Crusades. The bulbs were brought home as souvenirs when ancient people made pilgrimages to the Holy Land. So, this sweet little flower has an impressive history.

Always deadhead spring bulbs after they finish blooming or they will put their energy into setting seed, which limits their rejuvenation.

There are about 125 species in the genus Oenothera, and they are commonly called sundrops, evening primroses, or golden eggs, and they are native to North and South America.

In olden times, if one wore a sprig of alyssum, no one would be angry with you.

Allelopathic plants release chemicals through their leaves and roots that prevent the germination and/or growth of nearby plants.