How to Grow and Care for Spanish Flag (Firecracker Vine)

How can you not immediately fall in love with a plant called “American beautyberry”? It just makes the heart swell. Here, take a Kleenex.The emotive lexicon is well deserved.This large, deciduous shru

Though the profuse bell-shaped, yellow flowers that adorn the lengthy, twisted vines of Carolina jessamine are truly breathtaking, they conceal a deep, dark secret.They, along with the rest of the plant, are capabl

Beloved by many gardeners for its heat tolerance and shade-loving nature, but reviled by others for its eagerness to spread with abandon, R. simplex can be divisive.Thanks to its sweet purple flowers, however, we come down firmly on the pro-ruellia side of

Verbena is a genus containing about 250 species, many of which also simply go by “verbena” in common parlance, or if we’re lucky, something like the highly specific “purple verbena.”When I saw that my colleague here at Garden

If you love growing common sage in your herb garden and live in a warm area, you’ll want to consider adding Cleveland sage into the mix.Salvia clevelandii, also known as California blue, frag

Oregano, or Origanum vulgare, is a bushy, woody-branched perennial member of the mint family, Lamiaceae. Used extensively in a variety of cuisines, it is known for its earthy, robust, aromatic flavor.A staple of Italian-American cooking, orega

After a long flight from South America, a bird could use a juicy meal and a place to rest, right?For purple martins, those tasty insects an

Salvia, a genus of plants in the mint (Lamiaceae) family with nearly a thousand members, is known for its toughness.Heat tolerant, chill tolerant, drought tolerant, impervious to pest

While its brilliantly-colored beauty is enough to make even the sourest puss happy, a crocus poking its brightly hued head through the snow is known to trigger frenzied joy in those who feel perpetually winter-afflicted.Many gardeners look to the appearance

Ornamental grasses are increasingly being used in our landscapes as an alternative to shrubs.In any region of the country, you can find nati

Show of hands – who’s ever heard of epazote? If you’re a fan of southern Mexican or Guatemalan food, you may be familiar with this ingredient, which is comprised of the leaves and stalks of the epazote (eh-puh-ZO-tay) plant.This plant is considered a weed by some, but proudly

The Forsythia genus is a group of plants in the Oleaceae, or olive family. It includes 11 species of deciduous woody shrubs that bear bold yellow flowers in early spring.Suited to gardeners in USDA Hardiness