Lavender: how to grow and care for it | House & Garden

The elm zigzag sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda, SLF) is one of the latest non-native species to take hold in the U.S. It was first found in Virginia in 2021, and active infestations are now established in Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. EZS has not been detected in South Carolina, but it is an insect for which we need to be on the lookout.

If you love houseplants and also want to attract good luck to your home, then try growing these Lucky Plants and Flowers. They also look beautiful and will surely bring positive vibes to your room.

Native to South Africa, Streptocarpus – or Cape primrose – are lovely house plants that are grown for their fresh green leaves and pretty, primrose-like flowers in the UK. The flowers come in a wide range of colours, from white to pink, blues and purples, lemon yellow and red, and they are often bi-coloured. They bloom from spring though to autumn, offering a long-lasting display. Plants in the ‘Crystal’ series flower for even longer, and may even flower all year.

Yes, we’re talking about mint! The breath-saving, tummy-taming, taste-boosting mint. At Fantastic Gardeners, we love this refreshing plant, and why wouldn’t we? It is fragrant, easy to grow, and has many beneficial uses in culinary arts, medicine, and cosmetics.

Regardless of whether you are just starting your gardening journey or are already a gardening pro, the question of how to stop detrimental pests from destroying your hard work will inevitably arise.

Ask a gardener of any skill level what the hardest part of having a garden is and they will all tell you the same thing – getting rid of weeds.

Birds make a great addition to your garden, they’re great to look at and they’re useful as well. For instance, they will eat slugs, snails, aphids, insects and other well-known troublemakers.

There’s nothing like a tall,green hedge to create a little real estate intrigue, and the best neighborhoods in Santa Barbara are lined with them. The coastal California community is known as one of the country’s favorite beachside retreats, and for its many homes that look as though they were plucked straight from a storybook—if you’re lucky enough to catch a glimpse through thick green foliage.

All the latest garden news and the best UK garden events to look out for in August.

In Yorkshire we are lucky to have several gardens designed using the theme of a Himalayan Garden. The Hut near Ripon at Grewlthorpe is   ‘The Himalayan Garden’ with all the plants you would expect in such a setting including

Britain has some of the best gardens in the world. The choice of which to visit is far larger than this selective list but at least it gives you somewhere to start planning this years outings.

In the cold wet winter it is a good time to plan where to visit as the year improves. The South West is the obvious place to start your visiting tour of gardens containing exotic plants.