Birds & The Bees (and Bunnies)

Although I wouldn’t call my raised garden beds romantic, the rabbits in my neighborhood sure like to use them in spring for their bunny rendezvous and subsequent nests.

5 Ways to Stake Tomatoes

While it might feel early to be thinking about tomatoes, it’s never too early to start planning your next garden, especially if your tomato plants tend to look wild and overgrown by the time you remember to offer them a cage for support.

Destination Gardens

Don’t miss out on these four botanical treasures!

Bee Balm

Butterflies and pollinating insects can't resist this bold summer perennial.

2024's Best New Plants!

Instead of ringing in the new year with champagne and balloons, why not treat yourself to a few new plants that you can enjoy through the growing season? There are a lot of interesting introductions to get excited about this year.

6 Pro Garden Design Secrets

Starting a garden can feel overwhelming. And sometimes it’s hard to know if you’ll like something until you’ve seen it. By then, you’ve spent enough hours, hard work and money that it’s tough to make a change.

Dreaming of Summer

Unless you are lucky enough to live where it’s warm year round, when winter starts to drag on, it may feel as if the garden is awash in dreary, monochromatic browns and grays. Time to close your eyes and dream of summer—a colorful season when foliage is vibrant, fl owers are blooming and pollinators are active. If you need a bit of summer inspiration, here are three colorful low-maintenance combos that will also attract wildlife. Who wouldn’t dream of that?

Native Bees Find Winter Shelter in Surprising Places

As the buzz of busy bees gave way to the rustle of fallen leaves in my autumn garden, the last of the bumblebee stragglers hit up fading mountain mint blooms. Day by day, fewer sparkly green sweat bees and dwarf carpenter bees nectared on the asters, eventually vanishing along with the fluffy field thistle seeds.

Reader Tips

GREAT IDEAS FROM SMART GARDENERS

GARDEN ESSENTIALS

TOOLS THAT MAKE FALL GARDEN WORK EASIER

A HIDDEN SANCTUARY

Creative energy abounds in this zone 8 Oregon garden. With an abundance of nature's beauty and manmade structures and art, it's easy to be inspired by the hard work that's gone into making this backyard retreat where Meredith and Donald Hilderbrand designed and built the home and gardens.

NEIGHBORLY CURB APPEAL

This flower-filled garden supplies a three-season show everyone can enjoy.

Plants Pollinators Love

If you're trying to make your garden more pollinator friendly, knowing which plants to grow is key.

Add Quick Fall Color with Containers

Even as the rest of your garden starts to slow down in fall, there's still time to add a splash of color with a couple of high-impact containers.

HOW TO PRESERVE FRESH GARDEN HERBS

THE GROWING SEASON MAY BE ENDING SOON, BUT YOU CAN USE YOUR HERBS ALL YEAR!

Marvelous Marigolds

Don't overlook this tough, colorful annual.

Help Drought-Proof Your Garden

If you're tired of watering to keep your garden going through a hot, dry summer, take a few tips from Denver Botanic Gardens' Panayoti Kelaidis.

Reader Tips

GREAT IDEAS FROM SMART GARDENERS

Blast Off With Bright Color!

Peer at an individual flower from the inflorescence of Starship Scarlet lobelia, and you might be reminded of a hummingbird hovering in flight.

3 Invasive Tree Pests to Watch

It is devastating when a tree loses the battle with an insect pest, leaving a hole in the landscape that can't be refilled quickly. Sadly, many trees fall prey to invasive insects-here are three destructive ones to watch.

11 Easy-to-Dry Flowers

Drying flowers doesn’t have to be complicated. To get beautiful colors and sturdy blooms, sometimes it’s just a matter of choosing the right ones and using simple techniques. Erin Howell-Conner, manager of Howell’s Greenhouse & Pumpkin Patch in Cumming, Iowa, knows a lot about this process. She’s been designing with flowers she has grown and dried herself all her life.

Fabulous Summer Flowers

There here are two ways to keep the color going in your garden through the summer..

DESIGN DILEMMAS

WE'VE ALL BEEN THERE: Struck by the unexpected beauty of a plant at the garden center, in a flurry of inspiration, we grab other beautiful companions, purchase them all, and head home full of grand plants and visions but no real plan. Sometimes it works out, and many times it doesn't because designing a garden takes attention to nuts and bolts: the hows, wheres and with-whats. What dilemmas do you face? Flip through the following pages of inspiring photos and get practical solutions to your garden woes. Improve your garden's layout, add function, color it with your personality, and find that perfect fix that boosts your garden from good to better to best. Let's get started!

THE EVER-CHANGING GARDEN

Learn how one gardener transformed an erosion-prone landscape into a striking flower-filled oasis.

Hardy Hibiscus

These impressive blooms bring drama and a touch of the tropics.

VEGETABLES to Plant Now for a FALL HARVEST

Extend the growing season with a second planting of fast-growing and cool-season crops!

Chipmunks vs. Garden

Did you know that a chipmunk tunnel can 3 reach 20 to 30 feet in length, often leading to an extensive food cache? I know this because I witnessed it with my own eyeballs in my yard.

6 SOLUTIONS EVERY GARDENER NEEDS

Taking care of a garden requires many skills, and you might be a master of the basic ones. But for every gardener there are days when you pull on your boots, walk outside and find your regular rhythm of prune, weed, water and feed interrupted by an unexpected need - one that can't be solved by rereading the seed packet or sprinkling a little extra compost. If you're feeling stumped, we have an inkling that one or more of these six tricky situations are the culprit - or they might be someday. Take a look at our solutions, prepare yourself with the know-how to tackle any of these tasks and be ready to keep yourself and your garden in tip-top shape.

Tips for Growing Healthy Trees in Containers

Need privacy on your porch? Move in a hedge of container-grown evergreens to shield the view. Patio too sunny? Add a touch of shade with a kousa dogwood in a pot. Want more color in a shady spot?

Sun-Soaked Side Yard

Sure, your side yard might be hidden from sight, infrequently traveled or have minimal square footage-but is it sunny?