Talk about foliage you can’t count on! Our Christmas tree is raining needles all over the place. But outside, there is more enduring beauty to be found in the world of shrubs. Read about 6 favorites you need for the New Year.

Aside from a few zinnias, I didn’t plan to have annuals in my garden this summer. Not that I don’t like them, it’s just that I have dry sandy soil and can never keep up with watering them. But guess what - they didn’t give up on me! Check out the orchestra of summer volunteers.

Gardening isn't just about the design factor. Choose plants for their entertainment value and transform your garden into a lively oasis for pollinators. Keep reading as I introduce seven key players that have turned mine into a vibrant, buzzing symphony.

Want to add a little extra sizzle to your garden? Small sedums check all the boxes - easy, attractive, low maintenance, resilient and tolerant of poor soil. Read about this summers sedum experiments and find out about the many ways to use them.

You know how they say be careful what you wish for? I fantasized about big swathes of poppies and got them in spades. Here’s what happened.

Want to slide in one more plant, have an awkward spot or don’t have much room? Cut back shrubs are the answer. Practical and adaptable, they offer a solution to a ton of gardening woes and bring life into the smallest of spaces. Read on to find out about my four favorites.

Until I saw this elegant display of poppies at Great Dixter, it never occurred to me to grow them in pots. I’ve gotten obsessed with the pot idea for several reasons. Mainly, I’m not very good at direct seeding. Instead of big glowing swaths I only get a smattering here and there. It occurred to me that sowing them in pots would solve the problem. If any of you can relate, read on.

Since visiting gardens in England back in May, I’ve been obsessed with the art of letting it flow. Every garden I visited had an abundance of self-seeding and spreading plants melded together in a seamlessly exuberant fashion. I know we don’t have the same varieties of plants here, l admire the concept of a looser garden style and have been thinking about how to reproduce it with the types of plants grown here.

Yep, it’s time for year end resolutions - I’m much more successful with garden resolutions, and they’re way more fun! As I scroll through my garden photos and reflect on past successes and failures, I see plenty to provide me with the framework I need to make the coming year even better.

To be sure, the practical aspect of what to do with the onslaught of leaves can seem daunting to anyone. I think there’s a way to strike a balance between neat and tidy and sustainability. My own approach is primarily driven by a combination of practicality and laziness. Interested in giving it a shot? Read on.

Putting the garden to bed for the winter is no day at the beach. And what do you do with the motley assortment of leftover plants that don’t fit anywhere? Here are some ways you can recycle them.

At some point all gardens need editing, and perennial beds can seem particularly overwhelming - especially if you’re doing it on your own. Here are some ways to make it a little easier.

Life is full of surprises. I wasn’t expecting hot plants, sophisticated prairie gardens and flipped out container plantings when I hopped on a plane for Minneapolis. Here’s what I discovered.

There are so many questions about creating a naturalistic landscape - how do you keep it from looking sloppy? What do you to plant to attract pollinators, manage cultivated and uncultivated areas, eliminate invasive plants and so forth? I don’t have all the answers, but here’s a garden checks a lot of the boxes.

No now May is over the top in the UK. As the concept originated here, I guess it’s no surprise they take it to another level. I was struck by the seamless blending and balance of wild and cultivated areas I saw everywhere I went.

All is not sweetness and light in my garden this spring. Boxwood blight has crept into four hedges of Boxwood sempervirens ‘North Star’ that outline my front beds. At first they just looked mildly stressed, but it was more than that! Blight is really hard to diagnose. Here’s how I finally identified it and what I did.

Why, where and how? Much thought and sometimes lots of angst goes into creating a garden room. Read about my saga and lessons learned along the way.

Many of you know about my yearly sojourns to visit family in Vietnam. Every time I go, I discover something new - what caught my attention this time were the sumptuous assortment of containers.

Looking for inspiration for your 2023 garden? Scroll through last summers garden photos. It’s interesting how much you miss when you’re busy in the act. I’ve noticed that some of my best combinations were accidental. Lest I forget, I made a list of several that jumped out at me. Seems like a good way to begin a new year of gardening.

As I store away plant memories for the winter, there were a bunch that put a smile on my face this summer. In the interest of not forgetting what they were and to share my delights, allow me to rave about the highlights of 2022.