Carmen Johnston: Bringing a Game Plan into the Garden

Here are key autumn garden tips plus 7 top suggestions of plants to plant now.

We’re in Holland, Michigan, today visiting Terri Holden’s beautiful garden.

There are many foods and ingredients that illicit strong opinions among eaters, often based on one unpleasant sensory experience due to poor preparation and not the food itself. Okra, a mucilaginous member of the Mallow family, is no stranger.

Arianne gardens in a small city lot in chilly Minneapolis (Zone 4B) and fills her space with an abundance of beautiful flowers. Even more impressively, she grows many of her plants herself from seed.

Arianne is letting us into her beautiful garden today.

As the seasons start to change, now is the perfect time to take a trip to your nearest garden. Enjoy a long walk and catch the very last of late summer, while watching leaves turn amber and gold. Make sure to use your 2-for-1 Gardens card on your visit to ensure you’re making savings on your day out.

Fall is a beautiful time to explore Bedrock Gardens in Lee, New Hampshire, one of New England’s newest public gardens. The 30-acre property was historically a farm and more recently the home garden of artist Jill Nooney and her husband, Bob Munger. Over the course of three decades the couple built trails, garden rooms, water features, and structures that provide visitors with a unique and immersive woodland adventure. With sculptural elements and installations sited throughout the landscape, there are surprises at every turn.  

When Neil Patterson Jr. was about 7 or 8 years old, he saw a painting called “Gathering Chestnuts,” by Tonawanda Seneca artist Ernest Smith. Patterson didn’t realize that the painting showed a grove of American chestnuts, a tree that had been all but extinct since his great-grandparents’ time. Instead, what struck Patterson was the family in the foreground: As a man throws a wooden club to knock chestnuts from the branches above, a child shells the nuts and a woman gathers them in a basket. Even the dog seems engrossed in the process, watching with head cocked as the club sails through the air.

Ever watched a praying mantis silently stalk its prey, blending seamlessly into its environment like a ninja in the wild? These insects are masters of disguise, acrobats of the insect world, and each species carries its own set of jaw-dropping traits. You might be surprised to learn that there are hundreds of different types, each with its own unique behaviors, hunting tactics, and stunning coloration. Get ready to venture into the captivating realm ofDifferent Types of Praying Mantises—where mystery, beauty, and predation coalesce into one incredible insect world.

Today we’re in Raleigh, North Carolina, visiting with John Matthews.

On the hunt for the ultimate garden centre or service in the UK? It's not just about jazzing up your garden – it's all about crafting your very own green paradise! 

Those stubborn cracks and gaps in your garden pathway, walls, or rocky outcrops look really bad with dirt and muck accumulating in them. What if we told you that these challenging spaces are actually opportunities for a unique garden aesthetic? Prepare to unlock a new dimension in gardening as we reveal the perfect Plants for Cracks and Crevices to turn these so-called ‘problem areas’ into miniature gardens brimming with charm and character!