Stephanie’s Coneflowers

Read McKendree

Interior designer Stephanie Hunt’s seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom Park City, Utah, home is a grown-up, glammed-up, sophisticated version of a funhouse—it’s got so many surprises and delights at every turn. And believe it or not, she got the inspiration for the home on a freezing winter trip to Reykjavík, Iceland. “We were there for a quick weekend trip and I was struck by how the simple barn structures—very close together—looked like one unit. Because we’re art collectors I wondered what it would feel like to have each pod or pavilion, if you will, developed in a simple, honest architectural style, connected by halls and glass elements, with the halls serving sort of in-home art galleries,” she explains.

One UK study found out that green offices can improve the productivity and work capacity of staff up to 15%. Indoor plants also enhanced work satisfaction, concentration, and air quality over the long term. If you too want to see this happening in your office–Start with the desk, taking help from these ideas.

‘Hot Summer’ (a 2010 release, but new to my garden this spring from Klehm’s Song Sparrow Farm) is one of an impressive selection of recent Echinacea hybrids that seem to be getting better and better, almost insisting that I wake up to coneflowers again and make some room.  It was discovered in the nursery of Marco van Noort, a Dutch breeder, in 2007.The most exciting thing about ‘Hot Summer’ (Zone 4-9; 30-36 inches tall) is that yesterday the flower in the top photo was another fiery shade altogether. Each 4 1/2-inch flower opens yellow-orange and passes through an aging process to deep red, so once you have a lot of flowers you can have the whole fiery spectrum on the plant at once (ca

When Stephanie Waddell, founder of Colorado-based Istoria Interior Design, moved from Chicago to Boulder with her husband, Greg, and her young son, Ames, she was looking for the kind of mountain-adjacent life that makes people fall in love with the West. She wanted a home with room for her family to grow, with great views of the surrounding landscape, a layout designed for entertaining friends in the close-knit community, and the expansive feeling of open space that fosters a connection with nature. They found a 1970s-era modern house on a double lot in a great neighborhood, with a Japanese-influenced garden that had been written up in the local press when it was first designed. 

I love adding drama to a garden, especially choosing a plant that will stop you in your tracks with your mouth gaping open! One such plant is the giant coneflower (Rudbeckia maxima). It’s a coneflower on steroids that is native to the Central and Southern United States. The genus name is in homage to Olof Rudbeck (1630-1702), a Swedish botanist who developed the first botanical garden in Sweden.

Coneflowers started out in the wild as humble prairie wildflowers, but these days, they’ve made the transition to must-have cultivated garden essentials.Some people grow these stunners for thei

Coneflowers are known for their striking beauty and vibrant colors. Their large, showy petals and cone-shaped centers make them a stunning addition to any garden. Also called Echinacea, here are various Types of Coneflower Varieties you can grow.

Beekeeping is a never-ending learning journey and I love a good word about bees, so I jumped at the chance to read “Common Sense Natural Beekeeping: Sustainable, Bee-Friendly Techniques to Help Your Hives Survive and Thrive.”A relatively quick read, this book is packed with enlightening moments and interesting

Coneflowers are the ultimate triple threat. They add beauty to the garden, can be used as food and medicine, and are about as unfussy as they come.It makes sense, then, that this popular perennial has transitioned from a hu

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When you think of echinacea, chances are that the typical purple coneflower comes to mind, attractive to pollinators and herbalists alike, as well as wildflower aficionados everywhere.But, wait. What’s that? You’re lo