J. Parker's Partners with Manchester Metropolitan University for RHS Tatton Flower Show

Lavender fields are impressive, not just because of how incredible they look, but because of the feeling of calm and peace they create that is so hard to find elsewhere. That relaxing property is just one of the many reasons why we love to grow this plant at home, but lavender is also wonderful when used ornamentally. Couple this with its soothing effect and charming aroma, and you start to scratch the surface of its many, many uses.

If you don’t have much space and want to include plants on a patio or in your small yard, then check out the Best Trailing Perennials for Hanging Baskets and Plant Arrangements for a fabulous display of colors!

YES, OF COURSE I know about the more backbreaking ways to make a new bed, but lately I confess I’ve been relying more and more upon the magic of recyclables: newspaper and cardboard to be specific.

You may ask: Now why would I want to go to a talk about a historic and grand National Trust property situated in another climate altogether, a place long on fantastic walls and fountains, connecting outdoor “hallways,” magnificent topiaries, and hedges of box, hornbeam and yew? (As is probably the case in your garden, I have not one of those things here.)On a visit maybe 20 years ago, Hidcote was the initial place I saw such formal lines contrasted against a “jungle style of planting.” Even though each garden area is clearly enclosed and its shape well-defined, as in the famed Red Border up top, the plants in individual beds within each area were invited to just have at it, to spill out into the paths here and there, and to spill into one another in a riot of color, texture and intimate connection that’s both restrained and unrestrained all at once. Delightful.And then, it was this that made me perk up at news of the upcoming lecture:On Garden Conservancy Open Days at my

What special innovation in technique, exceptional plants, or flair with color or design did each of those 40 hand down to the rest of us? Matthew Biggs’s book is loaded with their garden wisdoms, and also with the charming tale of each luminary and how they got to the garden in the first place.Matthew, who trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is the author of various earlier books including “The Complete Book of Vegetables,” and is a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4’s “Gardene

Years later, when visiting English gardens, I’d smile to see what are referred to as “houseleeks” happily growing on shed roofs, out of stone walls, and in other unfussy spots.These days at nurseries and in plant catalogs, Grandma’s version, the Sempervivum, are just the start–joined by what my friend Katherine Tracey of Avant Gardens Nursery calls “the other hens and chicks.”I got inspiration on the creative use of succulents from Kathy on my public-radio show and podcast. Read along as you listen to the April 1

But which ones to choose from among the daunting selection out there, and how to care for them, anyhow? I’m so often asked about the particulars of pruning and of soil chemistry when it comes to the genus Hydrangea, so for all those questions and more, I invited Chanticleer’s Eric Hsu to my public-radio program.Eric became plant information coordinator at Chanticleer in 2011, and before that came stints at some of the most prestigious woody-plant collections in the Eastern United States: Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College; the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, and the Polly Hill Arboretum on Martha’s Vineyard.He has his bachelor’s from Cornell, and master’s degrees from both the University of Reading in England, and the Universi

I’M THINKING PRESIDENTIALLY at the moment, specifically about Thomas Jefferson, and how he sowed the seeds of fruitful harvests. Peggy Cornett, Historic Gardener and Curator of Plants at Jefferson’s former home, Monticello, taught me about the nation’s third president as a gardener, and about what he grew and how–like a perennial kale, historic lettuces and Native American beans, “strawberry spinach” and more.

“The Great Dixter Cookbook,” just out, is by Aaron Bertelsen, the vegetable gardener and cook at–you guessed it–Great Dixter, on the border of Kent and Sussex in England.Aaron was on book tour in the United States lately, and made time just in the nick before boarding the plane home to talk about the Dixter vegetable garden, and what all he concocted from its long harvest season to serve up the 70ish recipes in “The Great Dixter Cookbook.”Read along as you listen to t

Linda Beutler is author of three books about clematis, president of the International Clematis Society, and curator of the Rogerson Clematis Garden collection in the Pacific Northwest, just outside Portland, Oregon. Suffice it to say, Linda knows from clematis.In a recent conversation, Linda shared tips on matching the right clematis to the right support, and what to look for (not flowers!) when buying nursery plants, and why following the traditional rules on pruning without applying some common sense as well isn’t the way to go. Plus: Enter to w

When Dick and Judith had reached out to ask about advertising on the website, my first question was: “Didn’t you write the book on hellebores?” And yes, Judith was co-author of “Hellebores: A Comprehensive Guide,” from Timber Press.Asking questions you often ask me, and adding some of my own, here’s how the conversation with Judith went:a hellebore q&a with pine knot farmsQ. I think it’s safe to say that you have long been passionate about (obsessed with?) hellebores. What about these plants was the draw factor–since you discovered them before many of us did?A. We fell in love with hellebores at first probably because of the time they bloom. Both of us enjoyed being outside during the winter. We moved to Virginia from British Columbia, where peop

We even had a question about something you may have seen and wondered about, as one reader did: photos (perhaps from English garden books or magazines) of terra cotta pots placed upside-down on the tops of garden stakes. But why? (Our listeners helped answer his one.)Ken, whose 20th book called “The Scentual Garden” is due out October 15th, 2019, is a longtime garden writer and photographer and friend. That’s Ken’s photo of osage orange fruit, above.Read along as you listen to the September 30