Sue’s Favorite Foliage Plants

Your spice rack is for more than making lip smacking dishes! Believe it or not, they can  can also work wonders in nourishing your green friends, combating pests, and even preventing diseases!

How to Plant and Grow Daikon: Add Some Zing to Your Garden Raphanus sativus var. Longipinnatus

The hurricanes, floods, droughts and wildfires linked to human-caused rises in global temperatures and changing weather patterns are decimating harvests of essential food crops around the world, driving a crisis in global hunger never before seen in the modern era. According to the World Health Organization, between 691 million and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, an increase of 122 million people when compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. 

Header image: Details of a silicified fern fossil. Geoff Thompson/Queensland Museum

Back in June, friend of the GPOD Cherry Ong attended the Vancouver Hardy Plant Study Weekend and was kind enough to share photos of some of the gardens she toured. Today she’s taking us along to visit Thomas Hobbs and Brent Beattie’s garden.

Fertilizinghouseplants can be tricky – when to do it? How to do it? When to start it? When to end it? Well, all these questions can be confusing – not only for a beginner but for a seasoned gardener, too. So, is there a rulebook? Scroll down to get the answers!

When we talk about foliage superstars, coleus has to be at the top of the list. The breadth of options is vast and colorful. Depending on the garden center you’re at, you can choose from a rainbow of leaf patterns, colors, and shapes, as well as plant sizes.

Winter is a great time to look outside and evaluate the structure of your landscape. It can be easier during this time of year to tell if you need a few more woodies to add structural support. Small shrubs in particular have a lot of utility in gardens. They fit perfectly in beds and borders and can be used in tight spaces where more presence than a perennial is warranted. Here are a few smaller shrubs with impressive foliage that have worked well for us in the Southeast.

Rosemary can be used in several dishes, from roasts to cocktails, and adds a unique flavor to your meal or drinks, making it a must have herbs in homes and garden!

Cross summer-blooming begonias with some of their cold-tolerant counterparts and you get the Rieger begonia—a great option for a pop of tropical color during the winter season. Pronounced “REE-ger,” the Rieger begonia is a winter flowering plant with blossoms like tea roses. Although these hybrids don’t have any scent, they more than make up for it with their riotously colorful, creamy blooms. Riegers range from reds, pinks, and bright yellows to shades of orange and stark white. What’s more, under the right conditions, they can bloom indoors for several weeks and they’re fairly easy to propagate, too.

Different botanical specimens perform best in different propagating scenarios – some grow best from cuttings, while some develop better from seeds. However, there are also houseplants that grow the best from division! Let’s learn about them in detail!

Left: James Devaney; Right, Rob Kim / Getty Images