Author: JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

Fall Garden Cleanup

Putting your garden to bed will result in a prettier, healthier garden from fall to spring. It’s essential to know what areas to clean, what to prune, what to leave undisturbed, and what to protect. Simply taking a leaf blower to your beds and landscape is a start, but there’s more to the process if you want to do it right.

Clean Beds

Waning perennial garden — A waning perennial garden before the first frost.

When cleaning your garden beds, consider bed appearance as well as plant appearance and health. This means determining what should be cut back and cleaned and what should be left alone until spring.

Begin by cleaning out loose-leaf material by hand or blower with a focus on the most visually conspicuous areas. Smart gardeners are wise to leave some leaf litter in beds to provide added winter protection for more tender plants and help support overwintering pollinators. (Some species of overwintering native bees and butterflies use undisturbed leaf litter as essential winter habitat. Click here to learn more.) After clearing away unwanted leaves, give your fading garden plants needed attention.

Dead or dying annuals are the first thing to cut back or pull. If some have mature seed heads, consider scattering their seeds in hopes of getting a few extra seedlings in spring. Once annuals are removed and beds smoothed, start work on your perennials and shrubs.

Many perennials look great over winter and their crowns are protected by leaving the top growth intact. Leave all healthy evergreen perennials, such as lavender and sage, alone. Most ornamental grasses, coneflowers, asters, and black-eyed-Susans can also remain up until late winter. Some of these perennials, such as grasses, coneflowers, and asters, produce seed heads that naturally feed overwintering songbirds. Hardy perennials that die to the ground, such as daylilies, hardy geraniums, hostas, Shasta daisies, and salvias should be cut all the way back to keep gardens looking tidy.

Edge and Cover Beds

Garden covered in frost — Edge and provide some cover while leaving attractive perennials up for winter.

After cleaning beds, cut fresh bed edges (Click here for a how-to video about edging.), and apply mulch. Lots of mulches will work, but dark, earthy leaf mulch is landscape gold. Not only does it look good, but it breaks down quickly to naturally feed soil, and it is easy to create from yard leaves. [Click here to learn how to turn your fall leaves into mulch.] Screened, partially composted bark mulch is another good option for broadcast mulching. For small garden spaces, Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost can be applied as a high-quality, fortifying mulch.

When mulching, work around perennials and shrubs. Many plants will die or perform poorly if their crowns and trunks are thickly layered with mulch. Succulents, alpines, rock garden plants, hosta, and heuchera should never have heavy mulch applied on or around their crowns.

Fall Pruning

Use clean shears and wear gloves when pruning in autumn

In fall, start by cutting back any dead, unhealthy, or crossing branches from trees and small shrubs. When pruning out dead, diseased, or infested wood, prune just below the point where growth is still fresh and healthy. If you think that a plant you are pruning is diseased, be sure to clean your pruning shears in a 10% bleach solution before pruning another plant. If additional pruning of flowering trees and shrubs is needed to shape the plants, first determine whether your shrubs bloom on old or new wood. It is okay to prune new-wood bloomers in fall but not old-wood bloomers.

French lilacs (Syringa vulgaris), azaleas and rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp.), forsythia, most viburnum, serviceberries (Amelanchier spp.), and some hydrangeas, such as oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia), all bloom on old wood—meaning they set their flower buds for the next year shortly after they bloom. These plants should never be pruned in fall unless you want to cut off next year’s flowers. Old- or second-year wood bloomers are best pruned right after they flower. Butterflybush (Buddleja davidii), crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), and some hydrangeas, such as wild hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens), bloom on new wood, so fall pruning is an option.

Pruning techniques vary from plant to plant. As a general rule, shrubs that bloom on new wood are forgiving and can be hard pruned, or cut back nearly to the ground. In fact, hard pruning is recommended for more aggressive shrubs, like Buddleja.

Toss it or Compost It?

Bed cleaning creates lots of waste. Some of the waste is perfect for composting and some is best discarded. Loose leaf matter makes great compost. Fall grass clippings and leftover edging pieces can also be thrown into the compost heap. Old perennial and annual waste can also be composted, if it appears to be clean and disease free. Healthy woody branches can also be chipped and added to the bin. Any material thought to have pests or disease should be thrown away. This is especially the case for vegetable waste, such as last-season’s tomatoes, which commonly develop early and late blights. Rose clippings should also be kept far away from the bin because of the many diseases they can harbor. [Click here to learn more about rose diseases and pests.]

Clean, coiffed beds with crisp edges look great and will make spring prep a breeze. They will also make it easier to plan and implement fall bulb plantings and decorate for the winter holidays.

Grasses, such as this Ravennagrass (*Saccharum ravennae*) can be left up into winter.

Season Your Garden with Designer Herbs

Designer HErbs 1 — Golden oregano (top) and variegated pineapple mint (left) are two perennial ornamental herbs that should be planted alone.

Knowing designer herbs is to love them. Like all herbs, they are easy in pots, window boxes and containers, but they are also as beautiful as they are fragrant and delicious, making them perfect for creative planting designs. Some have variegated or colorful leaves and others columnar or compact forms giving them a visual edge. A bold lemon grass in a patio container, trimmed mini basil contained in an urban kitchen garden, or glorious variegated lemon thyme spilling out of a windowbox all look as splendid as they taste.
Visually appealing herbal delights cover most culinary favorites. Sage, rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano, and marjoram come in lots of pretty variations. Others, like lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), make a big impact in their natural form. Here is a sampling of some of the most interesting and lovely herbs to add to ornamental containers and beds.

007 — This trough planting of oregano (left) and tricolored sage (far right) shows the rhizomatous oregano engulfing the clump-forming sage, which is why oregano should be planted alone.

Basils (Ocimum spp.) are some of the easiest summertime annual herbs for pots and many are colorful and attractive. Two for beauty and good performance are the purple-hued Thai basil ‘Siam Queen’, variegated non-flowering ‘Pesto Perpetuo’. Both add unique interest to containers and continue to produce flavorful leaves from planting time to frost. Purple sweet basils, like ‘Amethyst Improved’, are also beautiful but only remain flavorful and full if their flower buds are continuously removed. If allowed to bloom and set seed, they have fewer leaves and develop a sharp, strong flavor.
Oregano is a classic perennial herb for containers and Origanum vulgare ‘Gold Tip’ and ‘Aureum’ are real show offs with gold-enhanced leaves and somewhat cascading forms. Two marjorams for color are the golden-leaved Origanum majorana ‘Aureum’ and beautifully variegated Origanum majorana ‘Variegata’, which has green leaves with irregular ivory edges.
Some of the most diverse and interesting herbs for foliar color are sages (Salvia officinalis). These semi-evergreen herbs all have soft, velvety leaves. Three are real ornamental standouts. The rounded, silvery leaves of ‘Berggarten’ sage are unusually ornamental as are the purple, ivory, and green leaves of ‘Tricolor’ sage and the golden variegated leaves of the classic ‘Icterina.’ Purple sage (S. officinalis ‘Purpurea’) is another charmer.

Salvia officinalis 'Berrgarden' JaKMPM — The bold, silvery leaves of ‘Berggarten’ sage (background) will add pleasing cool color to any container.

Trailing and weeping plants consistently add flair to containers, which is why the trailing rosemary plants Rosmarinus offinalis ‘Lockwood de Forest’ and ‘Huntington Carpet’ add extra flair at the base of containers. Thymes are also choice trailers for spilling over the edge of a potted herb garden. Of these, the lemony gold- and green-leaved ‘Doone Valley’ is a perennial favorite, as is the silver-edged Thymus x citriodorus ‘Silver Queen’ and fine, compact Thymus serpyllum ‘Elfin.’ All add lush looks and strong fragrance to containers.
When creating designs with ornamental herbs it pays to think of habits and heights as well as textures and colors. Life cycle and root spread are also important considerations. Small, annual, non-spreaders, such as compact basils, should be planted together. Aggressive, spreading perennials, such as ornamental oreganos, should be planted in pots on their own or given plenty of space in an herbal border.
When designing plantings, remember that groupings look best in threes. One complimentary combo of three for a container would be the variegated and columnar ‘Pesto Perpetuo’ basil, a bushy purple sage, and clambering ‘Silver Queen’ thyme. Choose a spacious attractive container, water it regularly during the heat of summer, and it will look lovely all season long. And when the annual basil dies through winter it can be replaced the following season.
Aggressive spreaders should be planted alone. All mints spread quickly via rhizomes, and the colorful and deliciously fragrant variegated pineapple mint (Mentha suaveolens ‘Variegata’) is no exception. Oreganos spread almost as quickly and will overcrowd other herbs. Lemongrass is another that will create a huge clump by summer’s end, if provided a large pot and consistently moist soil.
All herbs mentioned are sun-loving garden plants that grow best in fertile, well-drained medium like Black Gold All-Purpose Potting Soil. A light application of slow-release fertilizer early in the season will also help them remain vigorous and happy. Give them good care, and they will reward you with contained culinary splendor all season long.

032 — The finely variegated leaves of Thymus x citriodorus ‘Silver Queen’ will add interest to any potted planting.

Best-Tasting Winter Squash

Fall time is winter squash time. Whether you plan to make squash soup, a pie, or pasta, some varieties taste better than others. Here are some of the very best to seek at the market and consider growing in the vegetable garden. Many are beautiful and all have outstanding flavor.

Winter Squash Types

Several of the varieties mentioned were bred outside of North America, but all winter squash originate from the New World. Species were first cultivated by Native Americans and developed over thousands of years. There are three primary culinary species known to cultivation—C. maxima, C. moschata, and C. pepo. True pumpkins and acorn squash are C. pepo, butternut squash are in C. moschata, and turban and kabocha squash are in C. maxima.

Across the board, the winter squash on this list rate at the top for flavor, according to countless formal and informal trials and reviews. Gardeners can be confident in choosing any one, if good taste is what they value in a squash. Most are also high performing in the garden.

Kabocha Squash

Kabocha (C. maxima) are squat, orange, green or gray-green squash that originates from Japan. They have dense, dry flesh that is bright orange. Two of the more common, and nicest tasting are ‘Red Kuri’ (92-100 days) with its orange-red skinned fruits and smooth flesh that is less sweet but nicely flavored, and the gray-skinned ‘Winter Sweet’ (95 days), which has dry, sweet flesh.

Acorn Squash

Acorn squash (C. pepo) are wonderfully sweet, deeply lobed, acorn-shaped, and great for roasting. The cream-, gold-, and dark-green-striped cultivar ‘Jester’ (95 days) is just as pretty as it is tasty. Another comparable variety with super sweetness is ‘Sweet Dumpling’ (90-100 days) with its smaller, squatter, ivory and green fruits, and honeyed orange flesh. A less sweet, but colorful, variety is the orange-, cream-, and dark-green-splashed ‘Festival’ (90-100 days). ‘Cream of the Crop’ is a pretty ivory colored variety with good, mild flavor.

Pumpkins

One of the finest pumpkins for pie is the tender-skinned C. pepo ‘Winter Luxury’ (105 days). Each year this variety, and the small, pie pumpkin ‘Baby Pam’ (105 days), are the pumpkins that I choose for making homemade pie. The ‘New England Pie’ pumpkin (105 days) is an old heirloom from the 1800s that is also highly recommended. The unusual, lumpy, blue-gray-skinned C. moschata ‘Marina di Chioggia’ (100 days) is an Italian heirloom turban squash with dense, sugary, orange flesh great for pies, soups, and desserts.

Butternut Squash

Butternut cultivars are pretty consistent when it comes to flavor. All have richly sweet, nutty flesh favored for all kinds of fall and winter cookery. The compact variety C. moschata ‘Butterbush’ (75 days) is short-vined and bears small butternut squash that are dark orange, dense and very sweet on the inside. Vines are quite productive and early to bear.

Other Winter Squash Types

The cream- and green-striped, elongated fruits of Cucurbita pepo ‘Delicata JS’ (100 days) are thin-walled and have sweet, nutty, golden flesh. The small, ornamental fruits of ‘Sweet Lightning’ (100 days) look like tiny pumpkins striped with cream. Its sweet, stringless, pale orange flesh is said to be even better tasting than that of ‘Delicata JS’.

Cultivating Winter Squash

Winter squashes need to be started in spring for fall harvest. Be sure to plant them outdoors after the threat of frost has passed. It pays to plant them on berms (click here to read all about berming) amended with lots of organic matter. Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost, and Fafard Garden Manure Blend are recommended for spring soil enrichment.
Full sun and space are essential for these sprawling, vining plants. Many may require as much as a 12’ to 15’ patch to grow to their fullest. You will know the fruits are ready to harvest when they are hard, have full color, and their supporting vines start to wither.

Winter Squash Pests and Diseases

There are several pests and diseases that cause squash vines real trouble. Powdery mildew is a common fungal disease that damages leaves and gives then a white, dusty appearance. (Click here to learn how to manage powdery mildew.) Squash vine borers bore into vines and cause them to quickly wilt and die. (Click here to learn how to manage squash vine borers.)

By fall, you should be able to find these squash at farmer’s markets and orchards. You might also consider planting one or two in your garden next year.

Cucurbita pepo 'Sweet Lightening' — Cucurbita pepo ‘Sweet Lightening’

Beating The Five Most Common Vegetable Garden Pests Naturally

Jessie's daughter picking Colorado potato beetles — My daughter is picking Colorado potato beetles from potato plants.

For the past 11 years, I have grown my vegetables in a community garden plot, which has provided a rough, real education in plant pests, diseases, and weeds. Why? Because these mega veggie gardens are pest hot spots, and summer is the worst time of year for the beasties. “Bad” insects always attack my beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants–threatening to destroy fruits and foliage, and sometimes spreading disease as they munch and crunch along. I must use every tool in the toolbox to fight them. And, if the bugs beat my crop, I often start the crop again, if there is time and the season allows. Sometimes beating pests is just a matter of retooling planting time.

The five most common vegetable garden pests that I battle in mid to late summer are Colorado potato beetles, striped cucumber beetles, eggplant flea beetles, Mexican bean beetles, and harlequin cabbage bugs. Each return year after year with regularity, but some years are worse than others. The severity of the previous winter usually indicates the severity of my pest problems–the milder the winter, the harsher the pest problem. Last winter was pretty warm, so this summer the pests are rampant. Here are some ways that I have learned to overcome them.

Colorado Potato Beetle

The surest way to attract Colorado potato beetles to your garden is to plant potatoes, but if you don’t have potatoes, they will go for your tomatoes and eggplant secondarily. (Fortunately, they don’t appear to be attracted to tomatillos.) The fat, striped adult beetles emerge from the soil in late spring to feed on emerging potatoes and then lay clusters of orange-yellow eggs on leaf undersides. They yield highly destructive little orange larvae that eat foliage nonstop and grow quickly. You can kill the insects at any stage, but it’s easiest to pick off the adults and eggs. (Click here to view the full life cycle of these beetles.) The beetles can complete up to three life cycles in a single season, so once you have them, you generally have to fight them all summer.

Colorado potato beetle larvae on tomato — Colorado potato beetle larvae (left) on tomato.

These insects are highly resistant to insecticides, so it pays to choose non-chemical methods of control. Time and time again, well-timed cultural control, and proper winter cleanup have proven to be the best means of battling them. Cultural control is essentially picking off the adults, eggs, and larvae and/or pruning off egg- and larval-covered leaves and branches. I generally smash picked specimens, but you can also drown them in a bucket of water. Good picking should start in mid to late spring and continue until all signs of these pests are gone.
(To learn everything there is to know about Colorado Potato Beetles, visit potatobeetle.org.)

Spotted and Striped Cucumber Beetles

Symptoms of bacterial wilt — The symptoms of bacterial wilt, which is spread by the striped cucumber beetles.

As their names suggest, striped and spotted cucumber beetles favor cucumbers, but they also attack melon vines. Small, striped or spotted cucumber beetles look so cute and innocent, but they are so destructive. Every year my cucumber crop is a crapshoot. Why? It’s not because of the damage they cause by feeding on plants and fruits. It’s the catastrophic bacterial wilt that they spread from plant to plant. Once cucumber vines get cucumber bacterial wilt, there is no turning back. The leaves will start to show droop, and eventually, whole stems will collapse, and the vine will die.

These pests may have two to three cycles in a season and are next to impossible to control, even with harsh chemical insecticides. Floating row cloth cover can keep them at bay, but it is a hassle and does not allow pollinators to reach the plants. For me, the best course of action is to choose bacterial-wilt-resistant cucumber varieties. Cornell University Extension offers a great list of resistant cucumber varieties from which to choose. Of these, I have grown the short-vined slicer ‘Salad Bush,’ which is great for container growing. Two more reliable varieties are ‘Marketmore 80‘ and ‘Dasher II.'(Click here to learn more about striped cucumber beetles.)

Eggplant Flea Beetle

Tiny jet-black eggplant flea beetles are the smallest summer pests in this list, but they can devastate an eggplant in a matter of days. The small but numerous insects leave little pockmarks all over a host plant’s leaves. Badly damaged leaves barely photosynthesize, resulting in poor, weak plants that produce puny fruits.

If you want to grow eggplant, you have to protect them from eggplant flea beetles. There are plenty of insecticides that will kill these insects, but only a few non-chemical cultural practices will stop them. The best method that I have found is protecting plants with summer weight floating row covers that transmit a lot of sunlight while physically keeping insects from the plants. The key is covering plants early and then securing the row covers at the base, so the tiny beetles cannot crawl beneath them. Holding cover edges down with bricks, pins, and even mulch or compost works. The only caveat is that you may need to hand-pollinate plants for fruit set.

Good fall cleanup of infested crop plants will also keep populations down from year to year. On average, eggplant flea beetles will complete up to four generations in a single season.
(Click here to learn more about these pests.)

Harlequin Cabbage Bug

Harlequin adult bugs on summer broccoli — Harlequin bug adults do damage to summer broccoli.

These ornamental stink bugs are the worst enemy of summer kale, broccoli, and other brassicas. They suck the juices from the leaves, causing pockmarks all over them. The most striking destruction I have ever witnessed was with enormous Portuguese kale that I had nurtured to a bold 2′ height through spring. Once the numerous beetles started to attack in early summer, the plant had no chance.

There are a few management practices that will help stop these bugs. Floating row covers can also be used, as was suggested for the eggplant flea beetles, but harlequin cabbage bugs are big enough to pick off by hand if you have the time and can handle the slightly stinky smell they emit when disturbed. Small nymphs are also susceptible to treatment with OMRI Listed® insecticidal soap.

Two to three generations of harlequin cabbage bugs can occur each season. By late summer, they are no longer a problem so that you can plant your fall cabbages and kales with confidence.
(Click here to learn more about these pests.)

Mexican Bean Beetle

Like Colorado potato beetles, it’s the larvae of Mexican bean beetles that do the harshest damage to bean plants. The adults emerge in late spring, but they rarely cause major problems on bean plants until midsummer. The adults are orange, black-spotted beetles that lay clusters of orange-yellow eggs below the leaves, much like the Colorado potato beetle. The unusual larvae are fuzzy, bright yellow, and devastate leaves as they feed along the leaf bottoms.

Tou can control these pests as you would Colorado potato beetles with one exception – destructive harvesting. Destructive harvesting is the harvest and total removal of infested plants from the garden. After picking, infested plants should be pulled, bagged, and taken far from your garden. (Click here to view a YouTube video from the University of Maryland about destructive harvesting.) Beans can be replanted as late as mid-August for early fall harvest.

In general, regular weeding, good plant care, and excellent garden clean up, in summer and fall, will help keep pest populations down. Clean the ground of all leaf litter and weeds, and amend the soil with top-quality amendments for vegetables, such as Fafard® Garden Manure Blend or Natural & Organic Compost, and your plants will be more robust to resist the many garden pests that threaten to destroy them.

Protect Plants from Summer Heat in Four Steps

A thick layer of straw helps hold moisture around these okra plants while also keeping walkways clean and weed free. — A thick layer of straw helps keep roots cool while also holding moisture and keeping walkways clean and weed free.

It’s baking hot and your garden plants are wilting, waning, and altogether looking crummy. What do you do? High heat can take a toll on our vegetable and flower gardens, causing fruit and flowers to drop, buds to shrivel, leaves to wilt, and plants show general stress. It’s bad news, but there are a few protective measures gardeners can take to save their green investments through the worst of the high heat periods. Just four tips can help you turn your over-heated plants around: 1. Plant Smart, 2. Add Water-Holding Amendments, 3. Water Smart, and 4. Provide Mulch and Shade.

Plant Smart

Heat-tolerant Profusion Zinnias buffer the hot edge of a driveway garden.

This basically means choosing heat-tolerant plants and picking the right locations for your plant choices. Vegetables (read more about heat-tolerant vegetables here and read more about heat-tolerant greens here) and flowers (read more about heat- and drought-tolerant bedding flowers here) that can take the heat generally originate from warmer parts of the world. Choosing a Mexican-native Marigold (Tagetes erecta) over a European Pot Marigold (Calendula officinalis) means a world of difference when temperatures heat up. The Mexican Marigold will thrive and the European species will fry.

Choose heat-tolerant plants, such as Mexican marigolds, that will shine all season long.

More heat-tender plants should be placed in spots where they are protected by midday shade. Those planted alongside pavement need to be tougher because of the reflective heat generated by the concrete or asphalt. Buffering walkway or driveway edges with super tough creeping plants, such as rocky stonecrop (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’), trailing rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’) or Profusion zinnias, will reduce some of the glare and generated heat. Another tip is to place plants so that they are just touching, but not overcrowded. Keeping the sunlight from hitting the ground surrounding plants is cooling. It is also smart to plant from high to low with taller plants shading shorter plants (Wild Senna is an outstanding tall, heat-tolerant perennial you can read about here).

Add Water-Holding Amendments

Water keeps soil cooler, so adding water-holding amendments helps reduce heat stress as well as drought stress. Organic matter always holds more water, so it is wise to add fresh compost to beds before planting. Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost is a great choice, but there are other amendments designed specifically to hold water. A sustainable selection is Black Gold Just Coir, which is comprised of 100% all-natural coconut coir and holds water like a dream. Coir comes from processed coconut husks, a byproduct of the coconut industry.

Water Smart

Silver watering can — Early morning is a great time to water plants, if the day is going to be a hot one.

There are several watering techniques that will help you protect your plants from heat a little better (read all about smart watering tips here). First, watering early in the morning or later in the evening will allow plants take in moisture at cooler times of the day to help them withstand the high heat of midday. I like to water in the morning best. Drip hoses also help keep roots cool and water directly at the root zone.

Provide Mulch & Shade

Mulching cools rootzones, which helps keep plants happy during the hottest times of the day.

Mulches help keep plant roots cool. In the garden, lighter mulches, such as straw, hay, or leaf mulch, make a real difference in keeping plants happy during high-heat windows. Leaf mulch or pine straw are good choices for ornamental gardens. When days are really scorching, vegetables may benefit from floating shade cloth to reduce the sun’s glare. The cloth can either be supported by stakes surrounding beds or floated over rows during the day’s hottest window, from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Most studies show that the time between 2:00 and 3:00 pm is the hottest time of the day.
The most scorching days of summer usually don’t last long, but they can do lasting damage, dulling your garden’s looks and reducing yields. Protect them during these times to make the most of your garden for the rest of the season.

Colorful Tropical Hibiscus

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Chiffon Breeze' (TRADEWINDS™ CHIFFON BREEZE, TRADEWINDS™ BREEZE SERIES) — Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Chiffon Breeze’

Giant blooms bursting with color—these make Chinese or Hawaiian hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) a floral favorite in sizzling summer gardens. Huge variety is another perk of these tried-and-true tropical shrubs. There are literally hundreds of types that come in many floral color variations and sizes. And, their familiar good looks bring to mind Hawaiian shirts, leis, and landscapes. What’s not to love?
Native throughout tropical Asia, these hibiscus have been bred for centuries for their big, beautiful flowers. Through woody, they are fast growing and ever blooming, making them ideal for large patio containers and bed plantings. Their lush, deep green foliage creates a perfect foil for the big beautiful flowers. Some leaves are even glossy. These plants are only hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 9-11, which means they will only survive winters in the most southerly regions of the United States. But, they will overwinter well in a sunny, warm indoor location where winters are cold. A bright south-facing window, sun room, or conservatory is perfect.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Baja Breeze' (TRADEWINDS™ BAJA BREEZE, TRADEWINDS™ BREEZE SERIES) — Hibiscus rosa-sinensis TRADEWINDS™ BAJA BREEZE

The flowers are between 4 and 8″ wide and comprised of five large, open petals. The largest varieties are the size of dessert plates. They come in loads of bright, tropical colors to include all shades of pink, red, orange, yellow, and white. Unusual colors, such as near black, gray, and purplish hues are also common. Many blooms are bicolored and tricolored, with radiating rings of bright color. At the center of each bloom is a protruding pistil lined with colorful stamens, which is attractive and interesting in its own right.
There are literally hundreds of varieties of Hawaiian hibiscus. The International Hibiscus Society has a full register of every type under the sun. Anyone interested in learning more about these beautiful flowers should have a look. The wide ranging varieties give a complete picture of all this plant has to offer. To get a good look at exciting newer, interesting selections, check out the offerings of specialty growers, such as Charles Black’s Hidden Valley Hibiscus. His amazing hibiscus may be just enough to hook you!
Garden center varieties are often bred for compact habits and high flower production. The Tradewinds varieties are particularly nice, being developed to produce lots of flowers on tidy plants ideal for container growing. Though the plants are small, they always grow and flower best in large containers that allow their roots to spread and easily access water and nutrients. Large containers also need to be watered less often.

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Erin Rachel' — Hibiscus rosa-sinensis ‘Erin Rachel’

Grow these beautiful flowers anywhere there is sun. They prefer fertile soil that drains well and perform best with some supplementary fertilizer for flowers. Starting with a fortified potting mix, such as Black Gold’s All-Purpose Potting Soil with RESiLIENCE, is a good idea. Potted plants appreciate large containers and will fill them in quickly, if plants are happy and well-tended. In warmer zones, these shrubs are best planted in garden and shrub borders mixed with other lush, tropical plants loaded with bright color.

Waterwise Container Gardening

Container plantings are notorious for drying out quickly and needing extra water through the worst summer months, lest they dry and shrivel in a day’s time. Miss one morning watering and the most beautiful contained petunias or impatiens can go from great to ghastly full wilt by evening. Thankfully, there are ways to reduce the need for daily container watering while also ensuring lots of pretty potted plants for porch and patio.

The four factors to consider when designing water-wise container gardening are 1. pot size and type, 2. soil and soil additives, 3. plant drought tolerance, and 4. pot placement. Get these factors right and your containers may require half the water normally supplied to summer pots.

Container Size and Type

Flowers in clay pot — Glazed and plastic pots hold water better than terracotta. (Image care of the National Garden Bureau)

Container size and type are things that most gardeners don’t consider as water-saving, but the larger and more water-impermeable the pot, the more it will conserve water. Think about how plants move water. They take it up through the roots, the water travels through the plant, and then it’s released from tiny pores in the plant’s leaves and stems. Basically, the plant pulls water from the soil. A larger pot holds more water and provides more root space—offering a bigger well of needed moisture. And, an impermeable pot surface simply means that less water will be lost due to evaporation. Terra cotta pots are the worst when it comes to evaporation while glazed ceramics and plastic or resin pots keep water at the root zone.

Soil and Additives

Fafard Ultra Container Mix with Extended Feed and RESILIENCE pack

Some soils and amendments like peat moss hold water well and others like perlite encourage drainage. Our best water-holding potting soils contain lots of rich organic matter in addition to water-reserving additives, such as the Moisture Pro™ water-holding crystals Fafard® Ultra Container Mix with extended feed and RESiLIENCE®. The RESiLIENCE® additive, which is OMRI-listed for organic gardening, helps plants further by helping plants reduce water stress during hot, dry times. The addition of coco coir (we recommend Black Gold Just Coir) or Fafard Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss further enhanced water-holding to reduce the need to water every day.

Drought-Tolerant Plants

Lantana camara Bandana Rose — *Lantana camara* BANDANA™ ROSE

There are so many beautiful container-friendly garden flowers that stand up to heat. For containers, it’s great to choose heavy-flowering annuals that look nice until frost—either with their foliage, flowers, or both. It’s also nice to try new garden center offerings, in addition to solid standbys, that will wow and impress.

For warm container color, try the new Bidens Campfire® Fireburst with its tiny hot daisies of orange-red and gold. Annual Bidens bloom continuously and look great alongside the red and orange flower of Lantana Rose Bandana, and gold-, -orange, and magenta-flowered Zinnia Pinwheel Mix, which are also compact. All stand up to hot, dry weather once established.

Pennisetum glaucum 'Jade Princess' — *Pennisetum glaucum* ‘Jade Princess’

The outstanding Cuphea Vermillionaire® is another super tough, super pretty bloomer producing lots of orange-red, tubular flowers through summer that attract hummingbirds. These glow container plantings when placed alongside tall, Angelonia Angelface® Superwhite and soft, airy Mexican hairgrass (Nasella tenuissima). Another great hummingbird flower for heat and containers is the new Salvia Ablazin’™ Tabasco with its taller stature and scarlet flowers that shine alongside the chartreuse leaves and purple plumes of Pennisetum glaucum ‘Jade Princess’.

Containers of bold succulents are also welcome for those wishing to water as little as possible. Pots of colorful Agave, Aloe, cacti or sedums look great through summer and can be brought into a sunny indoor spot through winter. The only caveat is that these plants tend to want a better-drained soil, such as Black Gold Cactus Mix.

Container Placement

Pink Pentas and purple Pennisetum with butterfly — Pretty pink *Pentas* and purple-leaved *Pennisetum* are both drought resistant and look great in containers.

Where you place your plants can make a big difference in how quickly they lose water. Exposed areas with hot sun and wind will always dry plants out more than protected areas shielded from the wind and sheltered from the sun during the hottest time of day. Morning and afternoon sun is always less beating, so place planters in spots where this level of sun dominates and light shade it provided around noon.

Planning ahead with these four steps for water-wise containers will save water, time, and headaches through summer. Your containers will still need regular care and water for the best health and looks, but you will be able to enjoy them more and worry less about summer container instant-wilt.

Seven Easy Butterfly Flowers

Want butterflies? A kaleidoscope of gossamer-winged beauties all a flutter in a cloud of garden flowers that you planted? The truth is, creating a butterfly garden is pretty effortless, because many truly easy garden flowers are big on the butterfly palate. And butterflies eat with their eyes, so the flowers they love are generally the vibrantly hued flowers that we love, too

What Defines a Butterfly Flower

Common cosmos (*Cosmos bipinnatus*) (Image by Jessie Keith)

What makes a butterfly flower truly a butterfly flower? There are a suite of garden flower traits that attract butterflies, and it’s not just the flowers that draw them. A female butterfly ready to lay her eggs will choose the best plants for her caterpillars, while adult butterflies choose flowers with nectar essential for their growth and development. True butterfly plants and flowers have several distinguishing cues that fit the ways butterflies see, feed, and feed.

Overall, butterflies all have a weak sense of smell, long curled tongues (probosces), sharp vision, and they must perch to feed. So, most butterfly flowers are brightly colored, often lack a scent, are flattened and shaped for perching, and have long, tubular nectaries (the nectar-holding well at the base of a flower) perfect for a butterfly’s proboscis. (Madagascar periwinkle, Lantana, and phlox blooms are just three examples of the many flowers uniquely designed for butterfly pollination.) It’s a different matter when female butterflies choose plants on which to lay their eggs

Seven Best Butterfly Flowers

Orange milkweed (*Asclepias tuberosa*) (Image by Jessie Keith)

The best butterfly flowers have foliage that are also larval food for the young of specific butterfly species. My #1 favorite is the perennial butterfly flower (Asclepias tuberosa, USDA Hardiness Zones 3-9). Its sweeping clusters of bright orange flowers appear in summer and attract butterflies of all types, while its leaves are the favorite food of Monarch butterfly caterpillars. The leaves impart chemical protection to the Monarchs by giving the insects a foul taste, making them undesirable to predators.

Dara Queen Anne's lace — Dara Queen Anne’s lace (Image by Jessie Keith)

Other double whammies are flowering plants in the carrot family, whose flowers are attractive to all butterflies and foliage are the perfect food source to Eastern Tiger and Zebra Swallowtails, among other related butterflies. My #2 favorite butterfly plant is Dara Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota ‘Dara’, annual) with its purple and pink lacy flowers. The large, lacy blooms are long stemmed and great for cutting. Just be ready to leave the plants to the caterpillars when they first appear munching away at the leaves.

Echinacea 'Flame Thrower' — Echinacea ‘Flame Thrower’ (photo care of Terra Nova Nurseries)

Most butterfly plants are grown for their flowers alone. My #3 favorite butterfly flowers are perennial coneflowers (Echinacea spp., Zones 3-9) of all flavors. They come in many bright shades and are beloved by all butterfly species. These days, there are numerous cultivated varieties to choose from. I like the electric tangerine-orange and red ‘Flame Thrower’ for garden appeal and pollinator attraction, though most purists would advocate planting common native species, such as eastern coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) or pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida).

Zinnia Heirloom Raggedy Anne Mix in vase — Zinnia Heirloom Raggedy Anne Mix (image care of Renee’s Garden Seeds)

My #4 butterfly flowers are tall zinnias (Zinnia elegans, annual), are some of the easiest to grow and butterflies love them. Their colorful blooms appear through much of the summer, providing needed nectar during the hottest days of the year. Renee’s Garden Seeds has loads of amazing mixes, the Heirloom Raggedy Anne Mix, with its ragged large flowers in candy colors, is one of my favorites. They pair well with another super easy butterfly magnet, my #5 butterfly flower, common cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus, annual). The reliable Sonata Mix, with its short stature and large flowers in pink, magenta, and white, won’t disappoint. Plant both of these annuals in full sun and fertile, well-drained soil.

A late summer bloomer sure to draw loads of butterflies is the tall phlox (Phlox paniculata, Zones 3-8), my #6 plant, and of the many cultivated varieties, ‘Jeana’ is very special. Its large, upright flower clusters consist of many tiny, pink blooms with a sweet scent. Butterflies and bees always cover these showy blossoms.

Prennial sunflowers — Perennial sunflower (*Helianthus* spp.)

Finally come the many butterfly flowers for fall. By choosing a perennial sunflower, my #7 butterfly plant, you can’t go wrong. All are essential food for butterflies preparing to migrate or overwinter. One with lots of charm and good looks is the fine-leaved, 4-foot-tall, swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius ‘First Light’, Zones 5-9), which produces many golden daisies in mid-fall above plants with fine, linear leaves of bright green.

All butterfly flowers, whether annuals or perennials, need good care for best flowering. Water them well, amend their soil with fortifying organic matter, and light feeding will ensure crops of flowers to delight your burgeoning butterfly populations all season long.

Growing Salad Greens in Spring

Spinach and romaine lettuces — A suite of spinach and romaine lettuces growing in late March.

This is the time of year to start your seeds for salad greens, such as spinach, lettuce, and arugula. Getting a head start indoors will ensure that you will have fresh greens by late March to early April when daytime temperatures are warm enough for growing and nights are still cool and crisp. Once transplanted in the garden in early March, your seedling starts should take off, if your beds have been well prepared.
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is the most variable green—coming in lots of shapes, lead densities and colors. Some of the most common and popular types include the upright romaine or cos lettuce (popular in Caesar’s salads), crisphead or iceberg lettuce, and looseleaf types, which include butterhead and oakleaf varieties, among others. Colors vary from bright chartreuse green to deep green, purple and bronze. Speckled varieties also exist, such as the Austrian ‘Forellenschluss’, which essentially translates to “trout-like”. Reliable starter varieties, such as the classic heirloom looseleaf variety ‘Black Seeded Simpson’, super tight-headed romaine ‘Spretnak’, and unusually beautiful French crisphead, ‘Reine Des Glaces’, are all quite easy and delicious.

Lactuca sativa 'Reine Des Glaces' — The French crisphead lettuce ‘Reine Des Glaces’ looks beautiful and has more flavor than your average iceberg lettuce.

Spinach and arugula grow under the same conditions as lettuce—requiring cool weather for best growth and flavor. Both are less variable in appearance, but there are quite a few cultivated varieties with special characteristics that set them apart. Spinach may have smooth or savoyed leaves and some varieties are slower to bolt (set flower) in spring than others. The 1925 heirloom ‘Bloomsdale’ has large, savoyed leaves and is slower to bolt than most. I contrast, ‘Corvair’ has large, smooth leaves and is resistant to downy mildew. Some cultivars, such as ‘Baby’s Leaf‘, are recommended for growing “baby spinach”. Arugula cultivars vary somewhat in leaf shape, color and heat. The popular ‘Wasabi’ is an easy-to-grow selection with leaves that truly taste of hot wasabi. The new ‘Dragon’s Tongue’ is a visually pretty, finely cut variant with purple-red venation.

Lactuca sativa (SALANOVA® RED INCISED-LEAF, SALANOVA® SERIES) — Looseleaf lettuce varieties can come with variable leaf shapes and colors.

There are a few things to know when growing these greens. To begin with, they must have cool germination temperatures. Lettuce seed, for example, germinates best at temperatures between 70 and 40 degrees F, with those at the higher end sprouting faster. Most other greens do, too. The small, almond-shaped seeds of lettuce also require light to germinate, so be sure not to cover the seed—just gently pat it down and wet its soil completely. Arugula seed is also small and should be surface sown, but spinach seed is larger and can be planted just below the soil’s surface. For planting all these seeds, it is vital to select a quality seed-starting mix with a fine texture, such as Fafard Seed Starting Mix with Resilience. (For more seed-starting tips, click here.)

Tidy open beds — Tidy, open beds and good spacing are needed for healthy, vigorous greens.

Before planting, be sure to harden seedlings off, slowly exposing them to outdoor temperatures and sunlight until they are acclimated. Soil should be fortified with a quality organic amendment. I recommend Fafard Garden Manure Blend for greens. Work it in evenly before planting your seedlings. Once seedlings are planted around six to eight inches apart, water them well and apply a light solution of water-soluble, all-purpose fertilizer.
In no time, you should have harvestable greens. In is not uncommon for most greens to take between 45 to 50 days to produce after planting. Harvest depends on the green. Spinach, arugula, and looseleaf lettuce can be harvested leaf by leaf while romaine and crisphead lettuce are harvested whole by the head. The easiest way is to cut the head with a harvest knife from the point where it meets the ground.
It is not uncommon for a few stray greens to begin bolting before they are harvested. If this happens, let them bloom and set seed. After plants have bolted, wait for the seed to mature and dry. Then collect the seeds for planting later in the season when growing conditions are cool once again.

New Vegetables for 2016

Black Beauty tomatoes — The new slicing tomato ‘Black Beauty’ is darker than any other black tomato and has incredible flavor. (photo care of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds)

Each year I boost my passion for vegetable gardening by adding some of the latest new varieties to the garden repertoire. Those that pass the flavor and productivity tests may have a permanent place in my yearly garden while those that don’t shine will make space for new plants to trial next year. Last year’s winner was the flavorful, uniform, and high producing, AAS-winning ‘Chef’s Choice Orange’ slicing tomato. (Its deepest orange fruits were so sweet!) Just glancing at my growing pile of vegetable garden catalogs makes me excited about the fresh suite of new vegetables for 2016.

Candyland Red Tomato (Currant) Color Code: PAS Kieft 2017 Fruit, Seed 08.15 Elburn, Mark Widhalm Candyland01_02.JPG TOM15-19648.JPG — The new AAS Winner ‘Candyland Red’ is a sweet new currant tomato for the garden. (Photo care of All America Selections)

Let’s start with tomatoes and close relatives, like tomatillos, eggplants, and peppers. By far, the most exciting tomato being offered is the succulent, pure black slicing tomato ‘Black Beauty’. The Wild Boar Farms introduction has meaty flavorful flesh that is dark red to black. A classic red tomato on the table is the hybrid ‘Madame Marmande’ from Burpee that boasts beautifully lobed fruits packed with rich tomato flavor. Cherry tomato lovers should consider ‘Candyland Red’—a high-producing red currant tomato that’s super sweet. Pair it with the golden currant tomato ‘Gold Rush‘ for fun, colorful snacking.
There’s a great pick of peppers for 2016, hot and sweet. Promising hots include the Brazilian ‘Biquinho’ hot pepper, which looks like a bright red teardrop when ripe and is said to have a fruity, smoky flavor, and the fire-red ‘Flaming Flare’ pepper with its sweet, slightly hot flavor. Sweet pepper lovers should check out the golden sweet ‘Escamillo’ pepper. This prolific early bearer is an AAS winner for 2016. All of these peppers will pair well with the new, heavy-bearing ‘Gulliver’ tomatillo for salsa making.

Escamillo yellow peppers — The golden yellow pepper ‘Escamillo’ is another AAS winner with great taste and performance. (Photo care of All America Selections)

Though eggplant can have challenges due to susceptibility to flea beetles and Colorado potato beetles, I am excited about the new ‘Meatball’ hybrid eggplant from Burpee. The large, meaty fruits are supposed to be extra tasty.
Gardeners seeking something unusual may consider the Mexican sour gherkin, also offered by Burpee. The tiny fruits are crisp and sweet but also slightly sour. Add these to a salad along with slices of the remarkable ‘Sakurajima’, the world’s largest radish. Offered by Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, these massive daikon radishes can reach 15 pounds and just beg to be grown by adventurous vegetable gardeners with lots of mouths to feed.
Spring greens are some of the first veggies to go into the ground and new varieties, such as the super spinach ‘Gangbusters’ and/or beautiful heirloom lettuce ‘Yugoslavian Red’, are sure to make easy work of the salad garden. Throw in some vigorous Fidelio flatlead parsley or unusual saltwort Japanese greens for added interest and flavor.

'Yellowbunch' carrots — The bright, uniform ‘Yellowbunch’ Carrot is a sweet new offering for 2016. (Photo care of Johnny’s Selected Seeds)

Unusually colored carrots are becoming more and more popular and Johnny’s ‘Yellowbunch’ Carrot looks like a real winner with its straight, crisp, sweet roots of bright yellow. Other new root crops of interest include the pure white ‘Avalanche’ beet, an AAS Winner with mild, sweet flavor and uniform roots.
This list would not be complete without something sweet. Said to have the highest Brix score (15!) of any other canteloupe, Park’s Select ‘Infinite Gold’ hybrid is bursting with flavor and highly disease resistant. Vines are high-yielding and fruits have very deep orange flesh.
Whether growing greens, tomatoes, or melons—your vegetable garden will only be as good as the soil and nutrients you provide. Give this year’s new offerings and old favorites the best chance possible for success. Feed your soil with quality garden compost, such as Fafard Premium Natural & Organic Compost, or quality manure, such as Fafard Garden Mature Blend. Both will enrich garden soil to the maximum for large fruits and big roots. Feed with a fertilizer formulated for vegetables—we like Black Gold Tomato and Vegetable Fertilizer—and your new garden vegetables will perform to their fullest.

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