Blues Ideas, Tips & Guides

Chinese Gentian (Gentiana sino-ornata)

Planting annuals during the fall is a sure-shot way to prepare your garden for the coming year. These rugged, resilient plants overwinter through the cold and burst into blooms in spring’s warmth. Here are hardy annuals to plant in the fall for flowers next year!

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Aldi | Design: Better Homes & Gardens

We all dream of a bright, airy sanctuary flooded with plenty of natural light—but some rooms in a home will always be darker than others, whether that's due to their position, shape, or the number of windows.

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Sadly, today’s vase was as rushed as last week’s, as it was late afternoon when I came down the ladder with the loppers and another armful of ivy, and was immediately faced with lowering skies and the threat of rain. Choosing, ‘just because’, a couple of stems of pristine Salvia ‘Mystic Spires’ grown from cuttings and also from Salvia ‘Phyllis Fancy’, overwintered in the greenhouse, I was then unsure where to go with them. Having come up with a blue and white mix last time, I didn’t want to repeat this, but noticed how vibrant Dahlia ‘Geoffrey Kent’ was so went down the ‘jewels’ line instead.

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Playing with color can be fun and have a huge payoff, but only if it’s done well.

We had over 36mm of rain yesterday, when I prepared this vase, more than we had in the whole of August, so conditions for choosing and cutting blooms were not the best. Aster Symphyotrichum ‘Little Carlow’ was my go-to plant this week, quickly joined by white contrasts of Antirrhinum ‘Liberty Classic White’, annual Scabious ‘Snow Maiden’, Limonium ‘Iceberg’ and reflowering spikes of Verbascum chiaxii, with added foliage of polemonium. I am not keen on asters generally, seeing them, like chrysanthemums, as ugly lanky plants, but can tolerate ‘Little Carlow’ which is shorter and a little better behaved.

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AMC Theaters

Walking into the 2024 Real Simple Home, you are immediately greeted with stand-out hardwood floors, beautiful decor, and the stunning original accents of the home—and this is all in just the entryway and first room. 

As well as what could be classed as ‘projects’, there is a tendency for minor editing at this time of year and, on the whole, I feel the borders generally have been improving in recent years because of this.  I daresay I will never be completely happy with them and inevitably there will always be changes to be made, but at least there seems to be more cohesion to them these days and I don’t have an issue with removing plants that no longer bring pleasure. The bold borders have certainly come a step closer in their boldness, although some editing is still required in the one to the left of the gate (above), where an over-exuberant geranium has been swamping the new Geum ‘Totally Tangerine ‘ in front of it (below); moving the geranium further back in the border will be a first step.

Hostas are perennials that can be planted across borders and inside containers. They are grown for their attractive foliage. But none of the varieties can tolerate full sun. They preferred shaded spots and moisture. If you want hosta like foliage in your outdoor garden, check out these full-sun hosta alternatives.

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While mums are particularly popular during the fall season for their lasting power and bright multi-colored blooms, they aren't the only stars of the show for this upcoming season.

Whether you're redecorating or renovating a kitchen, your cabinets are just as important as the walls and tiles.

Laure Joliet / Architectural Digest

James Nathan Schroder

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Walmart

It's hard to believe, but 2025 is quickly coming our way, which means that all of our favorite paint brands are starting to announce their picks for colors of the year. Whether you are looking to repaint an old bathroom or revamp your entire house, there's a shade here for everyone and every room.

Dutch Boy

Aldi | Design: Better Homes & Gardens

Garden furniture can be a big investment – with sofas, tables, umbrellas and the like often taking up a large chunk of your overall garden budget.

When it comes to perennial vines, it’s hard to top the beauty of blue passion flower (Passiflora caerulea, Zones 7–11). This South American native plant is well-suited for the heat and humidity of the southeastern United States. One of the hardiest passion vines, it will reliably overwinter in Zone 7, or even Zone 6 when provided with extra winter protection. Learn more about choosing the right passion flower vine for your garden here.

My original thoughts for a post title ( ‘As Easy As…’) were thwarted when I realised the blue and white alphabet mug I planned to use as a vase was too small; several other similarly coloured vases were rejected for various reasons before I settled on this clear glass jar with its integral ‘cage’. A miniature bird cage, no doubt intended for a doll’s house, now serves as a satisfactory prop – someone must have left the cage open though, as the bird has flown…

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Le Creuset

Behr

VICTORIA PEARSON

Blooming along the Nile, this sacred flower was a potent symbol among ancient Egyptian royalty and deities. Even found in the famed tomb of King Tutankhamun, it is treasured for its psychoactive blue blooms. Let’s uncover the meaning of the intriguing blue lotus flower!

The name ‘caterpillar’ comes from the old French word chatepelose, which means ‘hairy cat’. Caterpillars are the eating and growing stage of butterflies and moths. Many are green but others are intricately patterned, which makes them straightforward to identify.

29 of the Best Blue Succulent Plants