Featured Articles

  • "A Water-Wise Garden That Works" Plant IDs

    In "A Water-Wise Garden That Works" (Fine Gardening #183), author Patrick Quadrel begins, "In 2005, I killed my front lawn." What he grew instead of the ubiquitous carpet of grass…

  • best persicarias

    Persicarias Deserve Your Love—Trial Results

    For many years, persicarias—also known as knotweeds—inhabited the periphery for me. I saw them but mostly looked past them, thinking of them as filler more than thriller. My first genuine…

  • Pitchfork with ingredients to make compost

    6 Ways To Make More Compost

    My grandmother, who managed a working farm in my birthplace of Malta, gave me my first lesson on soil health when I was about seven. As we harvested lettuce for…

  • water-wise garden design

    A Water-Wise Garden That Wows

    In 2005 I killed my front lawn. It wasn't negligence or ignorance. It was premeditated, cold-spirited, calculated murder. It's not that I don't appreciate turf grass. It most certainly has…

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  • Fall in Love With Unexpected Autumn Color

    Fall in Love With Unexpected Autumn Color

    Autumn is a glorious yet often overlooked season for container creativity. As summer annuals wane, garden centers lure us with rows and rows of ornamental cabbage and stiffly budded mums…

  • Plants for Hot and Dry Areas of the Garden

    There are so many garden lessons to be learned, and like many lessons, you generally learn best when it’s the hard way. I have killed many beautiful, rare, and expensive…

  • Essential Plants for the Fall Garden

    Essential Plants for the Fall Garden

    Many plants have something to ­offer as the growing season winds down, but to truly take advantage of the best of fall, one should grow the three pillars of the…

  • Spanish poppy in full bloom.

    Orange Plants for a Warm Palette in the Garden

    Why do so many gardeners shy away from orange? I have always been drawn to its warmth and flexibility. Orange is a versatile color; even those who dislike it often…

  • growing persicaria

    Everything You Need to Know About Persicaria

    Exposure: Some shade is essential in warmer zones, but even in the North, Virginia persicaria (P. virginiana) appreciates afternoon shade and wind protection. Soil: While most species are tolerant of…

  • A blanket of fallen leaves.

    3 Ways Fallen Leaves Can Improve Your Garden

    Green leaves are the energy engines that fuel our gardens. Without them there would be no flowers, no sugars for summer tomatoes, and no cooling or oxygenating the air while…

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