Easy Succulent House Plants

Echeverias, with their pretty rosettes of foliage, are easy and a visual treat.

Succulent plants are riding a wave of popularity right now.  Striking, easy to care for, and available in a variety of shapes and colors, they make perfect house plants.  Some indoor gardeners amass a collection of specimen plants, while others combine different species or varieties into indoor gardens, arrangements, or even wreathes.  The […]

Gesneriads for Bountiful Indoor Blooms

Streptocarpus ‘Polka Dot Purple’ is one of many colorful cultivars available.

Showy, funnel-shaped flowers; attractive, rounded, or lance-shaped leaves; and an overall velvety to fuzzy texture characterize members of the family Gesneriaceae, home to many popular flowering house plants including gloxinias (Sinningia speciosa), African violets (Saintpaulia spp.), and others. Collectively known as gesneriads, they have a dubious reputation for being fussy in cultivation. In fact, many […]

Eight Must-Have Philodendrons For House Plant Lovers

The coppery red, yellow, orange, and green leaves of ‘McColley’s Finale’ make it a much sought-after Philodendron.

Specialty house plant vendors are popping up nationwide because house plants are so popular. That means cooler, more wonderful hybrids and species are available as growers compete to provide more and more enticing plants. This trend has been good for the Philodendron. Some of the specimens available now are […]

Celebrate the Wintery Beauty of Florist’s Cyclamen

Even when not in bloom, cyclamen leaves continue to look lovely.

Florists’ cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum hybrids) is a great imposter.  Despite the Latin name persicum, they are not from Persia (modern-day Iran) but hailed from nearby countries, including Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Algeria, and Tunisia. Though the graceful flowers might make you think of orchids, cyclamens actually reside in the primrose family, Primulaceae.  The leaves […]

How To Force Spring Bulbs In Water

Flower bulbs, water, and a vase (or two) are all you need to bring a splash of spring to your windowsill this winter. It’s as simple as plant-growing gets. The water provides moisture for the bulbs’ roots. The vase provides a container for the water and support for the bulbs’ stems and leaves. And the bulbs take it from there. Everything’s inside these miraculous little […]

Tips For Growing Tropical Maidenhair Ferns

Distinctive delicate black stems and small fan-like fronds make maidenhair fern a much-sought-after house plant.

The South American Delta maidenhair fern (Adiantum raddianum, 18-24 inches, Zones 10-11) is arguably one of the loveliest, most delicate house plants you can grow. Its onyx wire-thin stems hold dainty, drooping fronds that tremble at a touch. A few varieties are available–all equally delicate and lovely. One caveat: The plants themselves are on the fragile side, so one […]

Fall Fruits for Decorating

Orange, red, and gold, are the most identifiable colors of fall, so seasonal decorating commands them if you prefer traditional color themes. Creating harvest hues is easiest when you have a good palette of garden material to gather. Here are several bright, festive fruits that no garden should be without. All can be used to create a warm, homey indoor and outdoor decor.

Festive, Decorative […]

What Perennials and Shrubs To Plant in Fall

Summer perennials and potted shrubs are great to plant in fall!

“Perennials (both woody and herbaceous) are shifting energy from their tops to their roots, preparing for their fall underground growth spurt.” -Russell Stafford

Gardeners tend to do the bulk of their planting and planning in spring when the horticultural hormones are running high. For many plants and purposes, however, fall is the perfect time to get […]

Native Hellstrip Gardens

The Highline in New York City is filled with some of the toughest natives for urban hellstrips, such as purple leadplant, native grasses, and coneflowers.

Where there’s a sidewalk, there’s often also a hellstrip – that narrow planting space between the walk and the street. Flanked by baking pavement and blessed with soil composed of compacted sand, construction rubble, and the like, it’s not the most […]

Homegrown Mints for Cooling Libations: Mojitos and Juleps

Mojitos have become a favorite tart, herbal summer drink!

Parched summer palates demand refreshments that are icy cold, wet, and flavorful.  For sophisticated adult palates, the mojito, a classic Cuban cocktail, and the julep, beloved in the American South, check all the right summer boxes. Mint, muddled or crushed with sugar prior to the addition of liquid ingredients, adds distinctive flavor notes to these drinks.

But, which mint […]