Teo Spengler

Perennials are plants that live at least two seasons, and some can live for many years. Home gardeners often cut back perennials in fall, but not every perennial needs to be cut back, so it’s good to know what perennials to cut back in fall. Or, more particularly, what perennials not to cut back in fall. Read on for the information on fall pruning.

Many backyard gardeners avoid planting cover crops because it seems so hard to till them into the soil the next spring without all of the appropriate equipment. That’s where it pays to read about no-till cover crops. These crops give you all the benefits of cover crops, improving your soil over winter, but you don’t have to worry about blending them in.

A great tree for multi-season interest, Lagerstroemia fauriei adds a decorative flourish from summer to winter. The Japanese crepe myrtle, as it is also known, is a deciduous tree with gorgeous fall color. This crepe myrtle also develops beautiful summer blossoms and attractive peeling red and brown bark.

If you love cedar trees and have a large space for growing one, an atlas cedar tree (Cedrus atlantica) is a fine ornamental choice. One of the true cedar trees, it takes its common name from its home region, the Atlas Mountains in northern Africa. It is an evergreen conifer with a pyramidal shape when young, but it develops spreading branches and becomes more flat-topped as it matures. 

If you have never heard of blueberry sod, this is your chance to simplify the way you approach lawn care. Beautiful and delicious, using blueberry sod as ground cover is a great alternative to planting a new lawn. It is much easier to grow and care for, and a unique way to enhance your garden’s fruiting potential.

Deciding to grow common privet (Ligustrum vulgare) is an easy choice if you need an easygoing standalone shrub or plant for hedging. Indeed, the common privet (also called European privet or wild privet) has long been a popular hedge plant. If you’re looking for the fastest growing shrubs, this one is really fast. It grows as wide as it is tall, and it is also fairly cold-hardy.

Green hawthorn (or Crataegus viridis as it is also known) is a slow-growing native tree, dense with dark-green leaves and small thorns. It is a popular choice if you are interested in defensive shrubs for landscaping and its growth habit makes it perfect for hedges and screens.

Friluftsliv is a Norwegian concept. What is friluftsliv? The term means open-air living. Walking, cross-country skiing, hiking, fishing or just getting out into nature, all these and other in-the-wild adventures are included in the friluftsliv definition in Norway, but it is not limited to Norwegians. Might friluftsliv be something you could benefit from? Read on to learn more.

Some adventures in nature leave you feeling relaxed and peaceful. Think of a walk in a forest or gathering wildflowers for a bouquet. But did you know interaction with your own plants can also be calming and even improve your mental health?

Taking our ecosystem for granted is no longer the norm, and thinking people the world over spend part of every day making choices that can help the planet. While there are no easy solutions to the damage human kind has done to nature, small decisions – like what kind of tree to plant in the garden – can make a difference in creating landscapes that enhance local ecosystems.

Trends come and trends go, and some of them involve “outdoor art” using trees and plants. One new trend is called yarn bombing. This involves using knitted or crocheted yarn to “decorate” outdoor structures, like lamp posts, benches and… trees. Are you wondering whether yarn bombing trees is detrimental? Read on for more information.

Shrubs are the perfect garden plant: too small to cause problems but too big to get stepped on. Shrubs are great for windbreaks, hedgerows and foundation plantings, and many grow quite rapidly as well. This is important if you want fast growing shrubs for privacy hedges or any type of hedge for wind protections.

Choosing trees for your garden can be fun, but choosing the right tree is a critical step in the process. Few acts bring more satisfaction than planting a tree. It’s an optimistic wager on the future. Digging the planting hole, installing the young tree, and watering and tending it bring a great sense of happiness and fulfillment. Wondering how to choose a tree? We’ll give you lots of tips to help make the experience a total success.

Buying bare root plants for the first time can feel a little strange. These are plants sold while they are dormant without any soil around their roots and no rootball of soil. The plants are not sold in containers. What do bare roots on a plant look like? They look like sticks! But, properly planted and cared for, they can grow happily in your landscape.

Is that grand tree sitting just next to the house a menace? Fungus on a tree might indicate that it is. It is important that homeowners, arborists, and landscapers recognize the signs when a particular tree may present a hazard. There are different types of fungi on trees, so tree fungus identification is the first step.

There may – or may not – be reason to worry if your young fruit trees are slow to grow and produce fruit. It depends on what type of tree you welcomed into the garden and how long ago you did it. To get fruit faster, you may want to plant fast-growing fruit trees. This article will provide you with more information on fast producing fruit trees.

Fertilizer can help any of your landscape trees, but it is absolutely necessary for fruit trees. You might enjoy a fruit tree’s blossoms and the shade it offers, but the primary purpose for fruit trees in the garden is the fruit. In order to produce abundant and juicy fruit, a fruit tree has to be healthy.

When it comes to gardening, hillsides are hard. Steep slopes are difficult to plow, to mow and to irrigate. But unplanted or inappropriately planted, a hill is prone to erosion.

It’s almost impossible – and perhaps undesirable – to avoid all impulse purchases. But it’s wise to limit it to the occasional sweet from the bakery or clothing item from a store that accepts returns. When it comes to buying plants, impulse buying is almost always a mistake. Read on for more information about sustainable shopping for plants for the home and garden.

Do harmony and balance in an environment design bring the occupants peace and prosperity? The answer is yes according to the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui. Using Feng Shui principles means arranging objects and space in your living space in a way that will accomplish these goals.

If you haven’t been exposed to fragrant sumac, prepare for a delightful surprise. This native plant is a low-growing deciduous shrub. It forms thickets in nature via underground rhizomes, grows from a compact crown, and spreads wide thanks to its sprawling branches.

If you’ve never heard of Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea), you probably don’t live in the tropics off the coast of Mexico or the American Southeast. In these locations, the Caribbean pine is known as an important timber tree and a useful tree to combat erosion. If you are interested in learning something about this tall, fast-growing conifer, read on.

Not everyone has a backyard appropriate for a large garden, but almost everyone can keep a container plant. Size is only one of the many advantages of growing plants in containers rather than in the ground. This only works well, however, if you select plants that are happy living in a pot. Gardeners in the West have many choices. Read on for some top options for California or Nevada container gardening.

Soil nutrients are what plants absorb to make their own food. What nutrients are in soil is similar to the vitamins and nutrients we need in our food for our bodies to thrive. All living things need nutritional chemical substances.

Soil provides nutrients for plants as well as millions of microorganisms. However, this only applies if the soil is healthy. Soil conservation is the movement to keep soil healthy, fertile and productive, as well as protecting it from erosion and deterioration. Learn about different methods of soil conservation here.

Flowering shrubs can grace your garden, adding color, interest and sometimes fragrance to the home landscape. For the biggest, showiest flowers, you’ll also need to take into account the sun exposure of the garden site. But never fear, there are flowering shrubs for landscaping that like sun and others that like shade.

In these days of drought, heat spells, and water wise gardens, many gardeners are interested in efficiency when it comes to irrigation. Drip irrigation is commonly considered to be the most efficient way to water plants. But there’s something even better now: subsurface drip irrigation. It’s one step up – or, rather, one step down, providing low pressure water directly to each plant’s roots beneath the soil.

While flowering trees are what you want, drought tolerant trees are what you need. Fortunately, there are a number of drought resistant flowering trees that will adorn your garden while requiring minimal water. These types of plants can form the bones of a water wise landscape.

A stroll through a boutique garden store might lead you to believe that filling a garden with happy, healthy plants is only for the well-heeled. But those very plants that have soaring price tags in the store might be yours for free if you are willing to be a little creative. If you are wondering how to get free plants, you’ve come to the right place. Read on for five tried-and-true paths that lead you to free garden plants.