Green graphic design: merging aesthetics with environmental responsibility

These climbing beauties, with their vibrant red stems contrasting against the rich green of five-part leaves, are a must-have for any plant enthusiast.

These vibrant blossoms have rich purple petals that blend seamlessly with striking yellow centers that can make any garden setting pop! They’re also great for attracting beneficial pollinators!

These fascinating insects are symbols of mindfulness, patience, and calmness. Let’s have a deeper understanding of what it really means when you see a green praying mantis in the garden.

YOU NO DOUBT have seen news that the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map was just updated, and that half the country once again got reclassified a half-zone warmer just as many of us did after the previous update of the map in 2012. But what does it all mean to gardener’s practically speaking?

Stacy Zarin Goldberg

There are a bazillion bigleaf hydrangeas out there. So when a new one comes out, it really needs to stand out from the crowd. Meet Eclipse® bigleaf hydrangea—a unique selection with dark purple leaves that hold their color throughout the gardening season. In summer the dramatic foliage is accompanied by striking cranberry blooms with white centers.

Yellow flowers with four petals offer a blend of simplicity and elegance. They are ideal for both gardens and pots and envoke a sense of positivity.

Few plants generate more revulsion in the garden than junipers. The mere suggestion of planting one often musters a similar reaction to that of saying a dirty word. Maybe we’ve grown weary of their use as ever­green blobs in foundation plantings. Perhaps the thought of meticulously shearing them into the perfect shape sounds daunting (see pruning tips). It could be an early memory of an itchy rash from an up-close encounter with a juniper’s prickly branches. Or it could be boredom with the sea of creeping blue rug junipers (Juniperus horizontalis ‘Wiltonii’, Zones 3–9) planted in every big-box-store parking lot. Although junipers are a midcentury-modern garden staple, generations of gardeners have since decided they have had enough of these controversial conifers. While it’s easy to dismiss them for their deeply ingrained negative traits, junipers have many merits that make them worth reconsideration.

You know that old saying that “friends don’t let friends grow annuals”? I now ignore that sentiment. Some of the best plants in my garden are annuals, and they are more than worth the effort of growing them every year. Annuals add bold color to my containers and beds, fill in spaces beautifully, and bloom for longer than any coneflower (Echinacea spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9) or phlox (Phlox spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9), so they bridge the flowering gaps between my perennials’ bloom times. But over the last few years as I’ve strolled the ever-more-homogenized aisles of the garden centers in my area, I’ve found myself bored silly, and in sticker shock. I always buy a few standard sweet potato vines (Ipomoeabatatas cvs., annual), calibrachoas (Calibrachoa cvs., annual), and coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides cvs., Zones 10–11), of course, but if I want something a little different, I grow it from seed.

Annuals do more than just look good in the garden; they also make excellent cut flowers for floral arrangements—especially in fall as they give it their all and put out their last blooms before the end of the growing season. As with creating captivating combinations in garden beds and containers, a bouquet needs balanced and hardworking elements. Focal-point flowers and foliage give a strong visual anchor. Use color echoes and contrasts to evoke dramatic excitement and harmony. And don’t forget to include dynamic fillers and textures, which also help the leading players to stand out.

This guide will give you a simple yet effective technique to cultivate a bountiful mint harvest in a small space like a windowsill!

Vines with white trumpet flowers showcase pure white petals that dangle down beautifully from the trailing stems, creating a rich contrast against the green foliage. You can train them to climb gracefully over trellises, fences, or walls!