These astilbe companion plants like the same moisture and light conditions and will make a beautifully coordinated garden bed. Astilbe is a gorgeous perennial that is right at home in a shady moist garden. You can grow it alone, but a well designed garden looks better with more than just one type of plant. Keep …
Outdoor Plants
There are many chocolate colored flowers available, but Chocolate Cosmos gets a special boost. I give it this rating because, not only does it have a lovely dark chocolate fragrance, but it is also one of the top 10 rarest flowers in the world. The plant is a perennial and is easy to grow and …
Growing begonias is a little bit of a challenge but you should do fine as long as you follow a few tips. Begonias are a very plant worldwide. They are used as bedding plants and can also be grown as indoor plants. There are lots of different leaf types, colors and flower formations. Tips for …
Garden Sheds have become a fixture in many back yards. But your garden shed doesn’t have to be plain and boring, as these great looking buildings will show. If you have been gardening for long, you will know that tools and gadgets soon start to take over your yard. Your garden shed can be as …
Astilbe is one of my favorite perennials for a shade garden. There are not many plants that really like the shade that also flower beautifully, but Astilbe is one of them. Astilbe colors could even be called the stars of a shady garden. Astilbe makes a wonderful border edging plant for a large garden bed. …
I thought it would be nice to start an Osiria Rose Photo Gallery. If you love growing perennials, it may be worth trying to find this Osiria rose, in spite of its reported growing problems. Osiria Rose is a hybrid tea rose that was first hybridized in Germany by Mr. Reimer Kordes of Germany in 1978. …
Biltmore Estate Gardens are a highlight of a visit to this iconic estate in Western North Carolina. The gardens, while not classified as a Botanical Gardens per se, is a fabulous place to see plants of all types. My husband and I recently spent several days in the mountains of North Carolina with our daughter. …
Decorating your yard with creative metal yard art can add a wonderful touch of whimsy to your outdoor garden space! I recently spent a week in a lovely cottage in the mountains of North Carolina. It was a great get away with my husband, daughter and her boyfriend. We spent the time driving around the …
Turn everyday items from around the house to make these creative garden art creations. Garden containers can cost an arm and a leg if you purchase it from garden centers. But this does not have to be the case. It is easy to create instant interest in the garden by making use of recycled or …
I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite daylilies in a garden tour. When it comes to versatility, blossoms and easy of care, very few perennials can match daylilies. They give a magnificent show of flowers, and sometimes more than once during the summer season. They can be managed by …
We recently had visitors from the UK who are gardeners, so we took them to JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh for a visit. One of my favorite parts of the gardens is The White Garden. It is a wonderful place to spend a day. You can walk around and enjoy Easter lilies, white agapanthus and …
Coleus plants add color to a garden bed like very few other plants do. I am always looking for plants to give my garden a burst of color which will last throughout the season. I plant the normal flowering annuals such as pansies, petunias, zinnias and others. But there is one variety which gives huge …
Follow some of these plant propagation tips and you will have a whole slew of new perennial garden plants without the outlay of cash at the garden center. If you garden, you will know that the cost of buying new plants can get very expensive over time. You don’t have to spend a lot of money …
Mother’s Day is right around the corner and spring has us out in our gardens. That made me think about a project for ways to transform your garden with mom in mind. I’m sure many of my readers are looking for something wonderful to give to their mothers for this special day. After all, it …
These early spring garden projects will get a jump start on your garden and will get you outside too! From lawn care ideas to tips for growing perennials in the spring, i’ve got you covered. I know that in most parts of the country, the ground is still covered with snow, but as any good …
I like to be ready to hit the ground running in the spring, so I thought it would be a good time to start thinking ahead with these lawn care tips. Even though there is snow on the ground in many parts of the country, it’s never too early to start thinking ahead to spring. …
My North Carolina winter garden is a sight to behold right now. Winter storm Jonas has been all in the news this week. It left a blanket of snow and ice from the South in the US right up the corridor to New England. Winter storm Jonas may break some records on the east coast! …
This budget friendly fall patio makeover can be put together in just a few minutes and sets the mood from Halloween right through to Thanksgiving. I am giddy right now. The temperatures have finally dropped and the leaves are starting to change color. MY TIME OF YEAR! Living in NC is hard on a gardener …
These creative ideas for fall decorations make use of the natural colors and textures that we find outside in nature. Most can be put together for very little cost and expense. Ever since I was a little girl, I have loved the change from summer to autumn. I love all of the seasons but there …
This DIY Succulent Strawberry Planter is a great way to display a variety of succulents in one planter so that each plant has its own special space. If you love succulents as much as I do, you will want to check out my guide for buying succulents. It tells what to look for, what to …
This year, we spent the summer on a garden make over. I thought it would be fun to share the tips that I learned during the process. It’s that time again. Time to transform one of my garden beds that just won’t seem to keep to a single design. I call it my “what will …
My husband and I recently finished this budget front yard make over in an afternoon. I love the way it turned out. I am all about gardening on a budget. With the amount of garden beds that I have, (8 and counting!) I have to be. I had a neglected Pine tree garden that was …
There are times that I am simply amazed by the beautiful, unusual and sometimes humble side of our planet. I especially love unusual nature photos. Since I am a gardener, it stands to reason that I love everything beautiful in nature. I thought it would be fun to have an ongoing page featuring some of …
I have a good sized yard now so I can pretty much do what I want with my garden beds. But there have been times in the past when I had just a strip of space between me and my neighbor, or a tiny back yard that could only hold a few chairs and couple …
I’ve always considered strawberry begonia plants as an indoor plant, since that is the way that I have generally grown them. But I had a surprise this year when I discovered that the plant is a hardy perennial for me here in North Carolina. Growing Requirements for Strawberry Begonia Plants I purchased several small strawberry …
My local garden center does not often have plants that are too much out of the ordinary, so I was delighted to find this Mexican Hat coneflower right here for sale in Raleigh. This interesting variety of coneflower is also called the “Red Prairie Coneflower.” The perennial served as a dye source for Native Americans …