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Autumn slowly settles in and the pretty flower gardens lose most of their charm. However, every cloud has a silver lining, which means it’s time to admire the pretty autumn foliage that trees offer. Did you know that the ancient Celtic druids used to worship trees?

The Brown Turkey fig, Ficus carica, produces large, sweet, juicy figs even in British conditions.

There are several annual plants I would recommend to new gardeners who want to cover an unsightly mess but do not want permanent plants that could impede house maintenance.

Violas are perennial and grow best in well drained soil that has an open structure to encourage fibrous roots and promote many stems from the same root. They may get a bit leggy so cut back two or three times during the spring and summer to encourage new shoots and more flowers. Aid this by applying a liquid rose fertilizer or seaweed and keep watered.

Britain is known for introducing us the best of the best — think Princess Diana, Harry Potter and fish and chips. Now we can thank the UK for bringing us a fantastic sun safety idea: the 3-hour-gardening rule.

Garden designer Alison Jenkins in her Somerset smallholding

While enjoying a slice of delicious locally-made pecan pie, I felt motivated to share with you some tips on growing and enjoying pecans. Whether you say “pee-can” or “peh-cahn,” they are one of the most nutritious nuts you can buy. Or grow for yourself!

We all want eye-catching plants—but we also want (and need) plants with a purpose.Ken and I invite you to a free webinar showcasing the real standouts they recommend that combine both form and function in sometimes unexpected ways.To just

Everyone could use a little extra space for storage, but if you feel as though you've exhausted all of the possibilities in your home, you're going to want to read on, as there is definitely still hope.

We’d been to hear another old friend, Dan Hinkley, speak at nearby Berkshire Botanical Garden’s annual lecture with several hundred other winter-weary types, and afterward gone off with Dan and friends to eat.We didn’t really talk plants at the meal; nine crazy gardeners traded pet stories. I know—insane. Either we are getting old and soft, or have spent too much time on Cute Overload. But the next morning my breakfast guest and I shifted from zoology to botany, stirred up by a few of Dan’s slides, including one of Mukdenia rossii ‘Crimson Fans,’ a shade plant Dan’s helped bring to market as

As I said in my November 8, 2010 post, the A Way to Garden philosophy (developed through a very unscientific 25-plus years of digging holes) is that the garden is a 365-day companion, and that the season never ends.You can hear me talk about that notion in today’s podcast with my friends at Robin Hood Radio, by the way. Or in the “woo-woo video,” as I call it, that I made this past spring. It’s right here (though you have probably seen it):WITH THAT ‘WE NEVER CLOSE’ attitude, I will continue posting and also sending newsletters* in the hopes that all gardeners have plants on their minds no matter what the weather delivers—and speaking

I AM A PROPONENT OF GROWING YOUR OWN; you just have to check my freezer and pantry the last couple of decades to see that. But a vegetable garden is not without its costs or its commitments—cash and elbow grease both required, and then some. Vegetable harvests, like money, don’t grow on trees.