Trees Ideas, Tips & Guides

Catalpa trees, with two species native to the United States, are known for their beautiful and plentiful blooms and for being the sole source of food for catalpa worms—caterpillars that strip the tree of its foliage and eventually become the catalpa sphinx moth.

When blankets of green suddenly pop into a canvas of colors with the prettiest flowers, it is truly a sight to behold! The ground covers on this list aren’t just easy to grow; they thrive in the shade and produce mesmerizing blooms even in dimly lit spaces! Let’s dig in.

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Happy Monday GPODers!

Spring is the time when your garden springs back to life. One of the most delightful ways to get your garden ready for the season is by planting spring bulbs. Bulbs like tulips, daffodils, and crocuses not only bring visual delight but are also easy to care for. This guide will walk you through the process of planting bulbs, the various types available, and offer useful tips for enhancing your garden.

Whether you travel often, are convinced that you don't have a green thumb, or simply do not want to worry about maintaining live plants day after day, you may wish to incorporate some faux green friends into your home. Today, there are so many incredible, realistic-looking fake plants on the market, making it easy to enjoy a natural feel in your space without having to worry about a watering schedule.

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What kind of snake is this and is it poisonous?

Is Your Husband a Gardening Ninja?

Green leaves are the energy engines that fuel our gardens. Without them there would be no flowers, no sugars for summer tomatoes, and no cooling or oxygenating the air while growing the mighty trees that give landscapes a sense of time and permanence. A gardener’s admiration of leaves can quickly fade, however, when faced with brown leaves blanketing everything from azaleas to annuals, and patios to pools. Leaves are suddenly a problem, something to manage—in other words, work.

Andrew Bunting is vice president of horticulture at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), where he promotes gardening for the greater good. PHS supports healthier neighborhoods through horticulture by cleaning and greening vacant lots, planting and maintaining street trees, partnering with community gardeners to share resources and conserve productive open space, and demonstrating ecologically sound gardening practices in public gardens throughout the greater Philadelphia area. Andrew’s extensive public gardening career includes time spent at Chicago Botanic Garden, Chanticleer, and 27 years at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. His Fine Gardening articles have covered topics like autumn-flowering trees, shrubs for shade, and selecting trees for structure. In this episode, he discusses the evolution of his home garden, the lessons learned from the many gardens his hands have touched, and the potential for making our shared landscapes more sustainable and inclusive.

Laure Joliet / Architectural Digest

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How to Identify and Manage Willow Galls

As you prepare your garden for autumn and winter, you may come across some tree seedlings, especially sycamore, ash, and oak, sprouting in your borders. Rather than letting these young trees end up in the compost heap, consider giving them a new lease on life by participating in the GardenAdvice Young Gardeners Tree Project as a tree donor..

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Is there anything more delightful than the scent of fresh flowers in your garden or on your balcony? With summer just around the corner, it's the perfect time to embrace outdoor living. From warm sunshine to vibrant blooms and the gentle hum of bees, nature is coming alive once more. By introducing fragrant plants into your garden, patio, or balcony, you can create a serene holiday retreat right at home.

How Can I Get a Stump to Rot Quickly? If you've got a stump to remove in a hard-to-reach spot, we have tips to help it decompose quickly. How to rot a stump quickly

A Goldfinch perching on teasel

When it comes to pruning your garden as well as shrubs and trees around your yard, it can be a bit intimidating, especially if you haven't done it before. Especially with the fall season, it can be tricky dealing with unexpected weather and more. Fortunately, it's not as complicated as you may think. Just make sure to avoid these pruning mistakes this upcoming fall season.

As autumn gives way to winter, it’s the perfect time to focus on the care and maintenance of your fruit trees and bushes. Proper pruning during the colder months is essential for the health and productivity of your garden. At GardenAdvice, we offer a comprehensiveAutumn -Winter Fruit Tree Pruning Service, designed to help you get the most out of your fruit trees and bushes. Alternatively sign up for aGardenAdvice one day gardening cours

August and September are the peak months when droughts can take place, which can cause some panic for gardeners. And while this is totally understandable, there are ways to keep your garden cool and watered even during the hottest and driest times of the year, so don't go into panic mode yet.

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An apple a day keeps the gardener happy and busy, but does it grow in Texas? Yes—but not all varieties! Some apple trees are well-suited to thrive in the Lone Star State’s subtropical to temperate conditions. Let’s find out the best ones for your Texan homestead!

While plenty of plant lovers will tell you about the easiest houseplants to grow, few will tell you which plants to completely avoid.

How to Propagate Ginkgo Trees from Stem Cuttings

Florida’s climate is one of its most important assets. Nicknamed the “Sunshine State,” Florida boasts a humid subtropical climate in the north and central sections along with a tropical climate throughout a majority of the south. The state's native plants are already well suited for its climate and soil conditions, so they can usually thrive without additional irrigation or fertilization.

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Summer pruning is an often overlooked task, but if anything, it’s just as important as chopping plants back when they are dormant in winter. Cutting back plants in summer has a host of benefits, not least in helping to restrict the size of your plants and stopping them outgrowing their allotted space. It can also promote future flowering and fruiting.

Pruning plants in summer is just as important for some plants as winter pruning. By pruning in summer, you can reap the rewards of better displays from ornamental plants. You’ll also encourage bigger crops from fruit trees and bushes. Removing new summer growth before it turns woody reduces growth-promoting nitrogen, allowing potassium to build up – and more potassium means more flowers and fruit. You’ll also keep plants, such as shrubs, climbers and rambling roses, within bounds and maintain an attractive shape.

When and How to Fertilize Plum Trees

The topic of fruiting quince came up the other day when a friend shared just how productive his tree was shaping up to be this year. Everyone present enthusiastically chimed in with our own quince experiences, memories, and recipes. We all appeared to have had a grandmother with a quince growing in her garden, who would use the fall-gathered fruit for cooking, jellies, jams, to add oomph to apple pies and ciders, and for medicinal—sometimes even alcoholic—purposes! Though most varieties of quince need to be cooked to be enjoyed in our particular climate zone and are firm and astringent at harvest time, this fruit has an avid fan club and is adored for many reasons.

Are you tired of growing the same old plants in your garden year after year? Looking for something that adds a new dimension to your gardening experience? If you're eager to explore innovative options, feminised seeds might be the perfect choice for you. These seeds not only offer unique benefits but also provide a fresh challenge for both novice and experienced gardeners. Let's dive into the world of feminised seeds and discover how they can revolutionize your garden.

The glossy mahogany-brown nuts of the horse chestnut or conker tree, are commonly known as conkers, after the game played with them by generations of children. However, unlike the nuts of the similarly named but unrelated sweet chestnut tree, conkers aren’t edible to humans unless cooked. However they are widely used for crafts such as model-making as well as games.

After tasting morel mushrooms foraged from the wild—or forking over big money to buy morels at your local farm market—you just might be wondering if you can grow morel mushrooms at home. The answer is yes! With patience, of course. Including the white Morchella rufobrunnea, the yellow Morchella americana, and the black Morchella angusticeps, there are many species of morels. In this article, I’ll share information about this unique mushroom and fill you in on how to grow morel mushrooms in your yard or garden. Of course, to succeed with mushroom cultivation in general—and when learning how to grow morel mushrooms, in particular—it helps