There are the spring-flowering alliums, crocuses, daffodils, and muscari – and don’t forget the summer-blooming begonias, callas, dahlias, and lilies! As the growing season winds down, it’s time to start planning your care and maintenance routine for fall, including how to prepare bulbs for winter. Flowering bulbs add gorgeous blooms and fantastic foliage in a myriad of colors, shapes, and sizes throughout the garden, lending their charm, fragrance, and beautiful blossoms to the landscape throughout three glorious seasons, depending on the variety – and even a fourth season of indoor growth if you like!...

When we talk about pruning these plants, there are two different types of pruning practices involved. Can we be honest about brussels sprouts? They’re not that easy to grow. I think that’s why you see cabbage and turnips and kale and radishes in home gardens way more often than you do sprouts. That’s a shame, because they also happen to be one of those veggies that are incomparable to the store-bought kind....

Trivia buffs and riddle lovers can take a break today, because the answer to the question, “What’s the difference between a lima bean and a butter bean?” is… nothing. Both are just different names for the tasty legume Phaseolus lunatus. But that’s not the complete story. Sometimes home gardeners will find it relevant that a bean has one of these labels or the other, especially in particular areas of the country, or the globe....

While there is no shortage of celebrity books out there, we combed through the genre of celebrity cookbooks and handpicked five that you’ll be reaching for weekly. Must-make recipe: Lemony Arugula Spaghetti Cacio E Pepe from Cravings ‘Some say love conquers all, but I say cacio e pepe does,’ says Chrissy. ‘It’s true. John [Legend] and I fell for each other and got married in Lake Como, Italy, but it’s also where I became a slave to this pasta dish,’ says Teigen on the Italian favorite....

While some are tried-and-true favorites, others are newly popular. Whether you’re looking for that classic strawberry flavor or something a little different, we’re confident that our list will not disappoint. A homegrown harvest of sweet summertime strawberries, warmed by the sun, is one of life’s great pleasures. And there is a huge variety of cultivars out there – over 200 currently – for your fresh eating, jam-making, and pie-filling pleasure....

I wish I could tell you that the process is quick and easy, but I won’t lie. Propagating bay trees takes time and patience, no matter what method you choose, and it’s likely that a majority of your cuttings will fail. Bay trees are so beautiful that I sometimes forget the leaves are also an essential culinary herb. And every time I do pluck a leaf from my tree to toss in a recipe, I think to myself, “I wish I had more of these in my garden....

What does that even mean? What’s the difference? Does it matter? You might see certain terms on the tag of a raspberry plant you’re eyeing at your local nursery. Fall bearing. Or everbearing. Perhaps a little confused, you move on, and come across a blackberry plant. Floricane fruiting, the tag reads. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

If the sunflowers you planted in your garden beds, containers, or landscape are drooping, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, I’ll share five possible explanations. One of the coolest things about growing sunflowers is watching the way the flower heads pivot to follow the sun as it moves across the sky, from dawn to dusk. Known as “heliotropism,” this trait makes the blooms seem like they’re always looking right at the sun....

Muscari plants are smaller than the other winter-grown forced bulbs, but their sweet fragrance and tight spires of cobalt blue, mauve, purple, or white flowers make a joyful impact in the dark days of winter. Many bulbs may be used for forcing indoor blooms over winter, such as amaryllis, hyacinths, and paperwhite daffodils. But for something a little different, a pretty option to consider is Muscari, or grape hyacinth. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

And for many years, I thought Great-Grandma Edith was full of it. Streptocarpus subg. Streptocarpella sect. Saintpaulia Like many grandmas out there, my great-grandma grew African violets. She was head of the African Violet Society chapter in the city where I grew up and she assured young me, as she lovingly watered and cared for her elegant and clearly happy plants, that raising African violets was a piece of cake....

Do you already include it in your gardening rotation? Good! You’ll still find some excellent pro tips below, and you can consider this a refresher on how to grow this lovely annual. Lobularia maritima When you find a long-blooming annual eager to mound into a big lump of fragrant flowers, you remember it, add it to your garden year after year, and generally find any excuse to use it that you can get away with....

Pruning the wrong way can have some seriously devastating consequences. If you botch removing a branch from a massive tree, no biggie. But one wrong move can completely destroy your miniature work of art. Most practitioners I know think pruning and shaping is the most fun part of the art of bonsai. It’s certainly the most creative. It’s the time when you play an active role in molding your chosen plant into the artistic vision that you hold in your mind....

I was really looking forward to having a supply of homegrown veggies for my son to enjoy – and to get him excited about gardening! For much of his young life, my son has carefully pre-screened each item of food he puts in his mouth. You might also call this picky eating. But one day, he started randomly wanting to eat carrots. Better yet, if I purchased a bunch of colorful organic ones from the grocery store, he’d say, “Purple carrot?...

These Fuzzy Foliage Houseplants have delicate hairs on the surface that is soft to touch. The leaves have a velvety feel, which also makes the plant stand out. Here are the best rainbow foliage plants you can grow Fuzzy Foliage Houseplants 1. Purple Passion Botanical Name: Gynura aurantiaca The gorgeous green foliage has a velvety surface and deep purple hairy edges. It’s trailing pattern makes it perfect for hanging baskets....

English, or Roman chamomile, Chamaemelum nobile, is a low-growing plant that you’ll often see growing between pavers in cottage gardens or as a ground cover. Just about everyone has heard of chamomile, whether they’ve seen the cheerful little plants growing in the garden, or have relaxed with a piping-hot cup of chamomile tea. But not everyone knows that there are two species that share the common name chamomile, and they each have different growth habits and uses....

Let’s take a close look at this destructive pest, beginning with its intriguing characteristics, and concluding with measures for deterring and eradicating it in your garden. The aphid is a tiny, soft-bodied insect that spells trouble in the garden. Its salivary secretions are phytotoxic, causing galls to form; disfiguring buds, flowers, fruit, and leaves; hollowing stems; spreading viruses; stunting growth, and literally sucking the life out of plants. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....

But sometimes, they struggle. Delphinium spp. Every spring, I hold my breath and watch the flower beds at the front of the house. The first year that I lived in my little red Alaska home, I planted three delphiniums. And each year, I wonder if they will make it. Have they survived the winter? Did my resident moose trample them to death in the muddy throes of spring? It always amazes me when they push up new stalks through last year’s dead growth, promising brilliant blue-purple flowers to catch the sunrise....

If you’re wondering whether you’d be able to grow enormous berries like the ones you see in the store, or if they’d be smaller, or how long the lovely fruits have been around, you’ve come to the right place. Rubus fruticosus agg. There’s nothing like picking a plump, juicy-looking blackberry from the vines in your own yard and popping it into your mouth. The tart, sweet flavor of homegrown blackberries is unbeatable....

Even to experts, rose classifications can be a complicated subject. If you’ve ever checked out the roses at your local nursery, I’m sure you’ve noticed that some appear to grow small and have petite blossoms, while others are big and bushy, with blossoms that look like they must have a thousand petals. Maybe you’ve heard of wild or tea roses, but you’re wondering what sets them all apart. If so, I feel you....

It’s only spoken in a hushed whisper, but right here, right now, you’re going to read that password in print for the first time ever. Rumor has it there’s a secret password to freely get inside every arboretum, conservatory, and botanical garden in the United States. 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....