Gardening
Garden Gate
THREE WATER-WISE GARDEN HACKS
The garden is the home’s largest consumer of water.
8 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
Bring the Beauty of Hydrangeas Into Your Garden With This North American Native.
You needn't be a botanist nor even a studied gardener to know a hydrangea when you see it.
5 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
Native Prairie Plants for Any Size Garden
Long before central North America was settled and developed, large swaths of verdant prairies teeming with diverse flora and fauna thrived there.
8 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
Bring in the Birds
The right native plant species can make your garden an avian haven.
7 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
Bee Balm
Butterflies and pollinating insects can't resist this bold summer perennial.
7 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
Plants for Pollinators
One of the biggest reasons for the dwindling pollinator population is habitat loss.
4 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
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.
2 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
Native Plants
Solve Shade Garden Challenges
6 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
No-Spray Bug Solutions
Try a few of these 7 methods to deter bugs without resorting to pesticides.
5 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
THE NEW NATURAL
Grow a thriving oasis filled with life.
6 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
Switchgrass
Adaptable switchgrass goes with the flow.
6 min |
Nature Friendly Gardening 2026
Garden Gate
The Giving Garden
This award-winning garden is rooted in personal connections.
8 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
2026's Best New Plants!
While it's a bit soon to start planting, this time of year is great for dreaming and making plans for the upcoming season.
10 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
Epimedium
This tough shade perennial provides year-round, deer-resistant beauty where few others thrive.
7 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
Reader Tips - GREAT IDEAS FROM SMART GARDENERS
JoAnne found a simple way to keep delicate stems from flopping over: She cuts the bottom off a clear disposable plastic cup, then makes a slit up the side and slips it around the plant's stem. It's a great way to provide a house plant, newly planted perennial or new cutting extra support as it grows.
2 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
Winter Survival Strategies
If you're worried about the effects the weather might have on your garden this year, find ways to make sure plants are off to a strong start in spring!
1 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
3 SMALL-SPACE GARDENS
Here are three 14x14-foot patio plans, each with its own distinct flavor, because a small space doesn't have to limit your style.
5 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
SHARED WISDOM
My “stone age” began in my childhood, when my dad would take our family on hikes to the creek behind our house.
7 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
Light Up the Shade
This is the plant for you if you're looking for something unusual for your shade garden. Carolina pink is native to the southeastern United States, but it is becoming increasingly rare in the wild. Luckily, it's starting to take off as a garden plant, and a striking one at that.
2 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
WHICH shade ANNUAL IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
THIS or THAT: IMPATIENS VS. BROWALLIA
2 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
Pretty Permaculture
After some home construction, Joseph and Shalyn Donofro’s zone 5 backyard was left with low-quality, compacted soil and not much of anything else. They envision a beautiful space that supports their young family’s healthy lifestyle goals, teaches responsibility to their children and enables them to spend quality time outdoors together. They want the cottage garden aesthetic, as well as the benefits of basic permaculture practices, which encourage sustainability and enrich the well-being of both the garden and the gardeners.
4 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
WEED WATCH
What it looks like Growing 2 to 5 feet tall, this perennial has a stiff, upright appearance and the square stems common in members of the mint family.
1 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
Grow Where You're Planted
While there are some plants that shine in a certain climate and won't grow anywhere else, many work well across different regions, so you don’t need to feel limited in your choices. But even if a plant can be grown almost anywhere in North America, you may need to adapt a little for your location. If it’s a tender perennial and you live in a colder climate, you'll either need to treat it like an annual or grow it in a container that can be moved indoors. And if you live in a warmer area, plants will most likely bloom earlier and may require more shade and water than they would in a garden in a more temperate climate.
3 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
Winter Happy Hour for the Birds
At daybreak, there are hundreds of robins above the sidewalks: robins coming to town, leaving town, staying, and all of them are eating hackberry fruit. Gobbling, gorging on hackberries.
2 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
ANATOMY OF A WINTER PORCH POT
FAST GARDEN FACTS
1 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
Lettuce Might Be Magical
I find it fascinating that each vegetable has its own unique way of growing. For example, as baby eggplants grow, it seems impossible that the rather spindly plant can support the weight of multiple eggplants. But Mother Nature somehow allows it to work even though it basically defies the laws of gravity.
2 min |
Issue 185 - Winter 2025
Garden Gate
The Best Bulb-Planting Techniques
Let's face it—gardening requires a certain amount of planning ahead. Take bulbs, for example. Those classic spring bulbs we all love, like tulips, daffodils and hyacinths, need to be planted in the fall in much of North America. Finally, after a winter's worth of anticipation, up they come to welcome spring. Worth the wait, isn't it? But what do you need to do to get bulbs off to a good start?
4 min |
Issue 184 - Fall 2025
Garden Gate
WHICH DAISY IS RIGHT FOR YOU?
Cape daisies Osteospermum hybrids If you want a blast of color, Cape daisies are the plants for you! Available in a rainbow of hues, Cape daisies (sometimes known as African daisies) will add zing to any cool-season planting.
2 min |
Issue 184 - Fall 2025
Garden Gate
Hosting Butterflies on the Doorstep
Walking out the door one September morning, I saw a tiny black blip at my feet. It was the final molt of a pipevine swallowtail caterpillar, the old, squashed skin (and face!) that drops when a butterfly caterpillar becomes a chrysalis. So, I looked up. And there was the chrysalis, fresh and glistening, hanging from a brick above my head.
2 min |
Issue 184 - Fall 2025
Garden Gate
Root Wash for a Better Start
Planting trees and shrubs this fall? Try this method to guarantee the roots' long-term health.
3 min |