15 of the Best Astilbe Varieties

No other plant native to South Carolina has such fragrant and beautiful spring blooms and stunning fall color as the witch-alders. Fothergilla was named after Dr. John Fothergill, an English physician and gardener who funded the travels of John Bartram through the Carolinas in the 1700’s. These beautiful shrubs have been planted in both American and English gardens for over 200 years, including gardens of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Oktoberfest season is upon us! It’s a time for sausage, pretzels, lederhosen, dirndls, Bavarian flags, and most famously, beer. It is not uncommon to see your local downtown German restaurant or brewery covered in blue and white checkered flags and have large picnic tables surrounded by revelers. The steady thump of a tuba sets the pace for the Oom-pah band (named after the characteristic sound of traditional Bavarian music) as people clad in lederhosen and dirndls (traditional Bavarian attire) hoist steins or glass boots filled with amber-hue beer in celebration.

I recently had the privilege of attending a presentation by Laura Dowling on arranging flowers in the French style. Laura was the Chief Floral Designer at the White House from 2009 to 2015. Her arrangements were inspiring, and the use of the materials was inventive and beautiful. She attended floral design schools in both Paris and Germany and has continued to pursue new techniques. She has also authored several books on flower arranging in the French style, featuring her design work at the White House. Laura shared her stories of working in the White House and other major events where she designed flower arrangements to create a magical background. Those two and a half hours encouraged me to think outside the box to create beautiful flower arrangements.

I GROW HARDNECK GARLIC because I like the big heads with a few, extra-fat cloves each (usually about four, maybe five), but also because of what happens right now, when my ‘German Extra Hardy’ plants send up their early bonus–a tasty flowering stalk, or scape. I prune each mildly garlicky curlicue off, grill it whole or cut it into pieces and saute or stir-fry it, or make a batch of scape pesto for the freezer.

I love ‘Sun Gold’ tomatoes, the tangerine-colored cherry, and wouldn’t be without one plant each year, but I’m always wishing there was a red cherry-sized fruit that was a little different—not your predictable ‘Sweet 100’ or ‘Sweet Million’ kind of character. The larger ‘Chadwick’s Cherry’ is someone special, but an indeterminate grower and later to yield. Perhaps in ‘Riesentraube’ I have finally found my dreamboat?‘Riesentraube’ (which means giant grape, probably for the way the fruits are bunched) is various said to have good flavor—beefsteak-like, says Southern Exposure—in a highly prolific plant that produces several hundred flowers and then giant clusters of 20 or even 40-plus fruits apiece. I can hardly wait, but I must, as it’s not time to start tomato seeds here yet by a longshot. Though some sources say ‘Riesentraube’ is a compact

Technically speaking, a “good bug bloom” would be one whose individual flowers are small (even if they’re massed in a big flowerhead, as dill or fennel are), and whose pollen and nectar are exposed for easy access.  They’d attract beneficial insect pollinators and predators—lacewings, for instance, or ladybugs, or ground beetles or beneficial wasps—creatures who spread pollen and/or feed on insect pests.A succession of beneficial blooms—not just one species or variety—will yield season-long appeal to a range of desired insects in all their life phases. Co-founder Ken Greene of Hudson Valley Seed Library says their Good Bug Blooms mix was formulated with that (and also eye-appeal to humans) in mind.Their current mix includes sulphur Cosmos, annual Gaillardia, ‘Lilliput Mix’ zinnia,

‘IT’S ENDLESS,” plantsman Michael Dodge (former owner of Vermont Willow Nursery) was saying over the phone a few years back. He was alluding to the possibilities of the genus Salix—the willows to which he has been devoting the recent chapter of his impressive horticultural career.  We narrowed it down to some best-of willow selections from about 200 in his collection—best willows for outsmarting deer; winter interest; abundant flowers and even best for making honey if you’re a beekeeper—and I also got a brutal tutorial on willow pruning (also known as coppicing) to share with you.best of the salix: michael dodge’s picksBest cut flowers:  Pink ‘Mt. Aso’ has “such a dense stem of flowers,” says Michael—some have 30 catkins along a space of 2 feet of stem.

I love clafoutis (kla-foo-tee), a humble French concoction that’s like a Huffy-Puffy or Dutch Baby or German pancake–whatever you call it, that’s my favorite Christmas-morning food. But the clafoutis is sweeter and has fruit inside. If you have 3 cups of fruit and some kitchen basics like milk and eggs and flour, you can make this dessert very last-minute, even just as you sit down to eat the main course, another selling factor. Easy, yet quite impressive.Though clafoutis is traditionally made with cherries, as it was in the recipe Martha shared in her must-have 1995 cookbook, “The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day” (affiliate link), I’ve come to regard her batter as the universal solvent for all things fruit.With it, I have since made clafoutis from peaches, plums, pears, various berries, cherries, and mixes of fresh fruit and dried (such as by adding a handful of dried cranberries or cherries to pears

Lamium is native to Asia and Europe and is called red dead-nettle, purple archangel, purple dead-nettle. If you want to grow a beautiful plant that can cover your garden without being so invasive, choose from our guide on 20 Best Lamium Varieties!

Zamioculcas zamiifolias are noted for their stunning foliage, low maintenance, and air-purifying qualities, making them the most desirable houseplants. If you too wish to bring one home, have a look at the best ZZ Plant Types below!

Full of flavor and wonderfully aromatic, basil, Ocimum basilicum, is one of the easiest herbs to grow. Its pungent, peppery taste with a hint of licorice makes it popular in a variety of cuisines.This member of the mint, or Lami

Are you familiar with the crisp, sweet, and succulent treat that is homegrown kohlrabi?Whether you’re an old hand at growing and feasti