Garden design Ideas, Tips & Guides

THE AREA around Philadelphia is well known for its richness of public gardens, including many historic ones. But the region is also home to an impressive roster of distinctive private landscapes from formal 19th century European-style estates to mid-century modern residences and contemporary ones. Now, a new book takes us inside the gates of 21 of them, places filled with ideas for our own gardens maybe, too.

LANDSCAPE DESIGN may be part of the green industry, but sometimes rethinking a garden space (or creating a garden where there didn’t used to be one) can create a lot of very un-green waste material—especially true when you’re designing in an urban setting.

Summer Perennial Bed with Mighty Chestnut Daylily 'Mighty Chestnut' daylily is a mighty fine addition to summer perennial beds. Add colorful perennials to summer-blooming beds

Editor's Choice: Mighty Chestnut Daylily ‘Mighty Chestnut’ daylily's outstanding blooms put it a step above its classic older cousins. ‘Mighty Chestnut’ daylily (Hemerocallis hybrid)

From online services to big box stores and local nurseries and garden centers, there are tons of different ways you can find and purchase plants to add to your landscape. Often, it’s a matter of finding the balance between convenience and quality. But is one option truly better than all the others? 

IT’S THAT TIME of year when we gardeners are shopping, shopping, shopping, often in hot pursuit of just the right plant that will make the design of a bed or the larger landscape hang together—that elusive missing ingredient. But what if the answer isn’t a plant sometimes, but a pot or a sculpture or some other non-living elements strategically placed?

Cool-Weather Plantings for Spring Containers Are you looking for some cool-weather plants to tuck into spring containers? We have three colorful planting plans that can handle the cold nips in spring. Welcome spring with cool-weather containers

How to Create Colorful Flower Borders Learn how Heather Thomas of Cape Cottage Garden keeps her flower borders colorful from spring through fall! Tour Heather Thomas’ colorful flower borders in New Jersey

IN A RECENT phone call, Tim Johnson used the phrase “bio-productive gardens,” and it stopped me.

6 Tips for Designing a Garden from a Pro With these smart ideas you can start designing a garden like a pro! 6 Pro Garden Design Secrets

Feed Pollinators with These Cool-Season Plant Combinations Keep pollinators happy with these spring and fall blooming plant combinations! Grow cool-season plants for pollinators

Cut Flower Garden Plan with Colorful Annuals Grow your own beautiful cut flower garden with this planting plan full of annual blooms perfect for a back bed or border! Grow your own cut flower garden

Colorful Spring Garden Bed with ‘Hino-Crimson’ Azalea Start your growing season by showcasing the vibrant blooms of 'Hino-Crimson' azalea along with other shade garden favorites. Add a burst of spring color with ‘Hino-Crimson’ azalea

Is it true that concrete sleepers are the best choice for your landscaping needs?

Must-See Public Gardens to Visit in the U.S. Whether they're around the corner or across the country, public gardens are worth the trip! Don't miss these impressive public gardens!

MAYBE MORE than any other topic, the use of native plants has consistently figured among the top garden trends in recent years. Just how popular is the movement toward a more ecological focus in the way we design and care for our landscapes?

Longwood Gardens Discover amazing flower borders, an inspiring conservatory, attend a fountain show or take a quiet walk in the woods at Longwood Gardens. Longwood Gardens Kennett Square, PA

Sarah P. Duke Gardens Stroll through the Sarah P. Duke Gardens to discover colorful seasonal plantings, a prairie garden and fruits and vegetables that grow well in the South. Sarah P. Duke Gardens Durham, North Carolina

Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden Don't miss out on the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden's colorful borders, beautiful roses, out-of-the-ordinary conifers and so much more! The Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden Des Moines, Iowa

Idaho Botanical Garden If gardening in a dry climate is your challenge, the Idaho Botanical Garden has lots of solutions! Idaho Botanical Garden Boise, Idaho

Collaborative post

Unique Flowers with Patterned Petals Check out these 10 unique flowers with gorgeous color patterns to add interest to your garden. Unique flowers for the garden

A Love Affair with Texture, Stone and Water | Talk & Tour Moving to a new home with no garden, dry rocky soil and huge stone outcroppings was just the challenge this gardener was up for. Starting a new garden from scratch

AS SHE OFTEN DOES, naturalist and nature writer Nancy Lawson—perhaps known better to some of you as the Humane Gardener after the title of her first book—caught my attention the other day.

Showy Shade Garden Ideas Create a beautiful shade garden with these plant combinations that showcase foliage and shade-blooming flowers. Planting ideas for your shade garden

DIY Holiday Decor from the Garden If you're looking for a budget-friendly way to add decor for the holidays, start by looking in your own garden for seasonal accents! Create your own holiday decor with elements from the garden

Collaborative post

The Society of Garden Designers has announced ten finalists across three award categories, in its annual SGD Student Awards, including the recently introduced urban sustainability award.  The shortlist was chosen by a judging panel that includes SGD Fellows Sarah Morgan FSGD and David Stevens FSGD and Tom Massey MSGD, who was a recipient of two of the first SGD Student Awards in 2015.

DIY Porch Pots with Spruce Tips & Evergreens Watch and learn how to use spruce tips, pine branches and more evergreens to make gorgeous winter porch pots! Plant porch pots with spruce tips and evergreens for winter interest

Small Space Garden Design Ideas from the Pros Learn how to make the most out of small garden spaces from 4 designers. Elevating Small Space Gardens

Fall Foliage Combinations Full of Texture There's no need for flowers when you can grow fall foliage combinations like these for stunning late-season borders! Make fall foliage the star of your border

Best Budget Garden Tips from Our Readers We asked our readers for their best budget tips for the garden, and they delivered! Tips from our readers for gardening on a budget

If you are ready to take your container design to the next level, join us for this course with Barbara Libner, who has been designing stunning containers professionally for over two decades. Barbara will walk you through every step of creating the perfect container as she shares her tips and techniques for better plant combinations, including numerous examples from her own designs and recipes you can follow on your own. Explore the concepts of color, texture, balance, and repetition as you learn to transform your own containers from ordinary to extraordinary. You can view each class on demand and then dive into an online forum where you can share ideas with other course participants and get your questions answered by Barbara herself.

Multiseason Garden Bed with Hesse Cotoneaster Get fall garden interest that lasts into winter with this easy-care plant combination featuring a Hesse cotoneaster shrub. Fall into winter with multiseason plants

Hesse Cotoneaster Get berries for fall and winter interest when you add Hesse cotoneaster shrubs to your garden. Enjoy year-round interest with Hesse cotoneaster

IT’S HARD TO THINK of another place so rich with major gardens as the Brandywine Valley in Chester County, Pa., and an adjacent portion of Delaware. Five of those gardens have a historic connection—a family connection—as they were all by members of the du Pont family.