Matt Suwak

My home is filled with houseplants, and about 30 percent of those are some variety of dracaena.This is in part because of my (infa

There is no surefire way to rid your garden of the possibility of a deer buffet.As the evening falls, the four-legged rats – *ahem

Wherever it is in the garden, Amsonia (aka blue star) will hold interest.In bloom or not, this sun-loving perennial stands tall

It took me far too long to discover the beauty and special quality of the shade garden. Since I’ve always been into those tough, hard-scrabble plants that eke out a living in any condition, the idea of a garden full of particular and at times sensitive plants was not of interest to me.But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve discovered a keen appreciation for these gar

A mainstay in many shade gardens, astilbe will be at its best when given the right food at the right time.We link to vendors to help you

Outside of inviting a pair of roving mountain lions into your garden to act as deterrents, installing a deer fence is your best option to keep deer out of your garden.This installation isn’t for everybody! It requires a good am

Ooh boy, summertime. There’s a lot to love about a summer day spent outside, isn’t there? Let’s set the scene:Pollen wafts on the warm winds while the sun beats d

Once upon a time, I used to hate dracaena plants. Then again, I was taking care of hundreds at a time. Heck, if I had to take care of a hundred beers at the same time, I’d probably start to dislike them, too.Well, probably not, but you get my poi

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.Ladies and gentlemen, sweet alyssum is that flower. And if you aren’t f

It’s leafy, it’s vigorous, and it’s chartreuse. Alchemilla mollis, aka lady’s mantle, aka “that dang leafy thing that grows fast,” is a familiar plant in many gardens.We link to vendors to help you find rele

If you’ve planted an apple tree and wondered why it never produced more than a few beautiful blossoms, you’re in good company.Many of us will head out to the garden centers in

I’m torn on this one.On the one hand, I understand the indis

Oak trees ought to be a staple on every property that can support them.We link to vendors to help you find relevant

What’s a garden without the sound of birdsong?I know I’m not alone in selecting plants and gardening prac

Meadows are one of my favorite places to be, largely because of the lovely milkweed that I often find there.Tall and topped with sprays of flowers, an arrow-straight stem

Beets are a staple in many gardens. As root vegetables, you’ve got an opportunity to maximize your growing space by adding companions for your beets, so let’s take a look at 15 of the best options!These root vegetables need at least six

Daylilies and I go way back. Hardy, drought-tolerant, profuse bloomers: what’s not to like? Add to that their eagerness to spread and multiply, and you’ve got yourself an easy addition to your home and garden.Because of its popularity, the daylily is available in a staggering array of co

It just isn’t summer in the northeast without Japanese beetles (Popillia japonica) tearing through raspberries, roses, and other plants gardeners tend to hold near and dear.Their voracious appetite is matched in intensity with an innate difficulty to e

Morning glories are the radish of the flowering vine family, easy to grow and fast, to boot.Most of the types of common morning glory, or Ipomoea p

I have about zero control when it comes to eating fresh fruit.In the past I’ve cleaned entire raspberry bushes of edi

Got bats?If conditions permit, adding a bat box to the garden is a great way

In my long list of “favorite plants,” the African violet sits comfortably somewhere near the top. That’s because of its profuse and reliable blooming, the ease of care, and the mystique of being a plant native to Africa. But there’s a more personal reason in there, too.When I was in charge of maintaining greenhouse st

Few elements in any garden manage to elicit the same reaction as a well-placed water feature. It conjures calm and can tie together an entire landscape.Go on, close your eyes and imagine the trickling sound of water while

One of my earliest memories involves planting a spruce tree.We grew up in a very rural part of Pennsylvania, so when I say that my d

I’ll save you all my backstory, except to say I’ve been working with my hands for more than 20 years and know what works and what doesn’t.I’ve worked through just about every

I’m a picky guy (I prefer “a guy with refined taste,” for the record), and that pickiness is particularly exacting when it comes to footwear.From running to working in greenhouses and tromping through woods,

Hens and chicks is a funky little plant to add to your garden, one that is at its best when you’re too busy and can’t tend to the garden often enough.We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from on

Whenever I am introduced to someone new and the inevitable, “So what do you do for a living?” question pops up, I get to share that I am a gardener and a writer.“Oh!” they exclaim, “It must be great to

As far as satisfying gardening experiences go, I think I’ve got my top three favorites settled: biting into the first jalapeno of the season, watching my heuchera really wake up and shine in the early summer, and deadheading marigolds.I can’t say there’s a more s

Of all the wildflowers I’ve worked with, Gaillardia is the one to never disappoint me.It puts on an effortless and long-lasting show of bright, lovely f

The common morning glory is an easy-to-grow ornamental flower that’s tolerant of a variety of conditions, a voracious grower that opens its blooms wide in the morning only to wilt by the afternoon.Requiring little care, it’s the annual groundcover and tr

Applying chemicals to the garden and yard can be a tricky thing. Too much and you’ve overdosed the landscape, but too little and you’ve done nothing but waste your money by pouring it down the drain.There are plenty of issues concerning the use of these synthetic compounds in w

I was working in a garden center when an older gentleman with a fishing hat on (I knew it was fishing hat because he had his license pinned to the back of it) came searching for a flower.“It’s orange. No… it’s red… I’ve seen

I was introduced to Egyptian walking onions about 12 years ago by an older man named Terry.He was a kind person who seemed more at ease with the plants i

The first time I encountered lily of the valley, I smelled it before I saw it.I was hiking near a forested swamp and was caught off guard by something that

I’ve got to admit, I have a laissez-faire attitude when it comes to gardening.I don’t mind leaf litter scattered around, and I l