19 Amazing Cactus with Arms

Most fruits have seeds lodged deep within their fleshy innards. But Mother Nature loves her exceptions! Read on to learn about those peculiar fruits that appear to have seeds on the outside.

This photo shows European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet floating with 1.2 million tomato seeds that launched to the ISS on 19 February 2017.

If you’d asked me a decade ago how I fare with houseplants, I would have told you, without question, the answer is horrible. Every plant I brought home seemed to die, no matter what.

I SUSPECT every gardener has for years now over and again heard the warnings about the most widely used pesticides in the United States, neonicotinoids—or neonics for short. In 2013, the American Bird Conservancy issued a report warning of their impact on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and especially the ripple effect their use was having on birds. The Conservancy has issued an updated report with a telling headline, “Neonicotinoid Insecticides failing to come to grips with a predictable environmental disaster.” So where are we now with limiting the use of these pesticides and what can we as citizens and gardeners do to help in the effort?

Kim Cornelison

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to get exclusive access to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show? Well, your dreams have come true because in this exclusive interview we got an all-access pass to THE horticultural event of the year thanks to Annie Guilfoyle, a 2024 judge. Annie is co-founder of Garden Masterclass in the UK and an award wining garden designer who earned a Silver Medal at Cheslea years ago for her innovative landscape design. Annie is just back from the show this year and shares details from her favorite gardens, interesting new plants that caught her attention, and even some celebrity gossip from those stars that were in attendance at the show. (Spoiler alert: she did not  see Lady Whistledown at the Bridgerton -themed garden). We discussed how native plants and sustainable practices played a role in this year’s event and talk about themes of water conservation and hardscape upcycling.   

This story is part of our ongoing PFAS series, The PFAS Problem: Demystifying ‘Forever Chemicals’

Artificial flowers are a wonderful and maintenance-free way to introduce colour and life into your home. Whether you are an experienced decorator or simply looking for an easy way to brighten up your living space, an artificial flower bouquet can be an excellent choice. In this article, we share tips and ideas for creating the perfect artificial flower bouquet, with a special focus on silk flowers. Discover how to choose the best artificial flowers and style them for a stunning result.

It wasn’t actually a lie, but I was misleading myself as well as anyone who reads my blog, when I talked yesterday about how behind the clematis were. In reality, it seems to be mostly the C viticella and C integrifolia that are either slow or not showing at all, whereas  C texensis like ‘Princess Diana’ and ‘Duchess of Albany’ are as floriferous as usual although not yet in bud, and the few Group 2 clematis are growing and flowering (or about to) as usual, like the striking Clematis ‘Kingfisher’ above.

INTEREST AND AWARENESS around native plants has been trending in recent years, and it makes them feel almost new. But of course natives are the original plants of an area, and even in certain specialty corners of the nursery industry, they’ve been around far longer than they’ve been making headlines.

Collaborative post

Summer temperatures are here. This also means more weeds, insects, and other pests in yards. It is tempting to spray pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, etc.) in the yard while wearing shorts and short-sleeve shirts. Is this safe, though?