Gardenig in state Pennsylvania. Tips & Guides

But nobody among the 250ish visitors asked about those “oops” moments—such a polite crowd, blessedly—and instead just saw the half-full glass, er, garden. What they did notice and wonder aloud about:What is that yellow flower everywhere that looks like a poppy?Good guess. Stylophorum diphyllum, the celandine poppy (above), is a poppy relative that is an Eastern North American native—but not so far east as here; maybe to Pennsylvania. I grow it as a garden plant outside its range, as I have for 20ish years.  More on it.What are those big leaves under that big tree?In my garden, that ques

And last week I wrote a tomato growing story as part of a garden series I’ve been doing in “The New York Times,” and this week I wanted to continue that tomato theme and talk about them with Mr. Tomato himself, Craig LeHoullier, a.k.a. NC Tomato Man and author of the classic book, “Epic Tomatoes (affiliate link). Comment in the box at the bottom of the page to enter to win a copy.Craig has gardened and grown tomatoes in areas of the U.S. as different as New England and Seattle, Pennsylvania and Raleigh, North Carolina, and lately in the mountains of Western North Carolina, too. He’s one of the founders of the Dwarf Tomato Project that we’ve talked about on the show before, and generally just an all tomato all the time

One feature I look forward to each year is the garden’s annual Plants of Merit list. I spoke recently with Daria McKelvey there about those standout varieties, from showy begonias to a summer-blooming small native tree with excellent fall color, just in time to guide my springtime plant shopping.Daria is supervisor of the Kemper Center for Home Gardening at Missouri Botanical, where she oversees indoor gardens, its Plant Doctor answer line, and a lot of the website features I rely on so much.Read along as you listen to the April 11

Sam has a passion for many other garden-worthy, umbel-shaped flowers, too—not just various Angelica, but other plants in the Apiaceae, the family that includes carrots and parsley. That’s Selinum wallichianum, above, at 7 or 8 feet tall.Sam Keitch is Project Manager for Public Landscapes at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society in Philadelphia, where he creates ecologically driven designs, often in urba

David Culp has been making his own 2-acre garden in Pennsylvania for about 30 growing seasons, yet he still looks to tweak it regularly, to continue to fine-tune. David, a longtime teacher at Longwood Gardens, is lately teaching online in popular monthly webinars, hosted by Jim Peterson, the publisher of “Garden Design,” with their next one coming up November 11th.David is the author of “The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage,” and a follow-up book last year, “A Year at Brandywine Cottage: Six Seasons Of Beauty, Bounty and Blooms.”Plus: Enter to win his most recent book, “A Year at Brandywine Cottage” by commenting in the box near the bottom of the page.Read along as you listen to the Novemb

Invasives are our topic today. Trigger warning: The subject of chemical use, and when it outweighs the damage done by invasives, is also part of the discussion.My guest is Christian Allyn, who founded Invasive Plant Solutions when he was still pursuing a double major in horticulture and economics at the University of Connecticut. Rather than just watch the continuing ravaging of natural habitats (like the one in his photo above) by invasive species in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where he practices, he decided to do something, to make it his career path.“This does not have to be our realit

Also on the agenda today, a tip on a bulb you may not have grown before, but could order to plant this fall, surprise lilies. Above: giant knapweed (Centaurea macrocephala) and rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium) in her dry garden.Jenny Rose Carey is former senior director of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Meadowbrook Farm and taught in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture at Temple University, where she also directed the Ambler Arboretum.Plus: Enter to win her new book, “The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Guide”

My name is Elizabeth. I am 24 years old and live in Pennsylvania. My grandma is my best friend and has over 10 acres of farm land. On her farm she has a small 40-foot by 80-foot garden. I planted over 20 crops this year with her.

Today’s photos are from Carla Z. Mudry in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Across North America, spring and summer mean that it’s time to buy new plants for the garden, and while there are plenty of great nurseries and garden centers, real plant enthusiasts know that treasures are often to be found at independent plant sales. Here in the Northeast, we are blessed to have more than a few that are worth traveling to, even if it involves getting up early to commute a few hours or even booking a room somewhere.

Hydrangea season is upon us. The South Carolina Botanical Garden has a designated Hydrangea Garden across from the Hanover House. Hydrangeas are a multi-stem, woody shrub native to Asia and the Americas. Our native hydrangeas include the smooth and the oakleaf; both grow in hardwood forests with moist, humus-rich soil.

Popular for their unique cog-like crest and predatory behavior, these insects are also quite menacing looking. So, What is a Wheel Bug? Time to find out!

Treehugger / Design by Amelia Manley

Brown marmorated stink bugs may have a funny name, but no one who has to deal with them is laughing. “They can be a significant issue for commercial growers and home gardeners in regions where the stink bug population is high,” says Jim Walgenbach, PhD, professor and extension entomologist atNorth Carolina State University. “All life stages of stink bugs can cause damage to foliage and fruit.”They feed on all kinds of plants, both edible and ornamental, but their favorites include peaches, apples, pears, pecans, tomatoes, peppers and sweet corn.

In that time, Karl estimates he’s seen more than a million pots of display plants, many of them species we think of as “houseplants,” move through its galleries as different seasonal shows were staged. Each one has to be exceptional to make the grade, the best varieties (like a variegated Thanksgiving cactus, above) and also grown to perfection. So I know he has the answers on both fronts: on which plants to choose and how to care for them.Read along as you listen to the March 6, 2023 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).houseplant tuneups, with karl gercensMargaret Roach: You’re a little plant-mad, aren’t you? [Laughter.]Karl Gercens: I think tha

Today’s photos are from Jolene, who is sharing the beautiful garden that her mother, Tina Iosca, has created. We’ve been lucky enough to visit this beautiful garden before: The Secret Garden.

vitalkaka / Getty Images

If you live in the Mid-Atlantic, you have almost surely heard of the dreaded spotted lanternfly (SLF), known scientifically as Lycorma delicatula.This invasive planthopper originated from China, where it was

Verbena is a genus containing about 250 species, many of which also simply go by “verbena” in common parlance, or if we’re lucky, something like the highly specific “purple verbena.”When I saw that my colleague here at Garden

It recently came into news and attracted the attention of environmentalists and biologists. According to the Fox News–“In brief, the sap prevents your skin from protecting itself from sunlight, which leads to a very bad sunburn.”

Green Giant Arborvitae, also known as Thuja Green Giant, is a popular evergreen tree that is widely planted in residential and commercial landscapes. This tree is highly valued for its fast growth rate, dense foliage, and tolerance to a wide range of soil and environmental conditions.