textured leaves - Fine Gardening

  • colorful circles and white plus sign
    Design

    Garden Design Basics: Use Two Colors Plus Green

    In a world full of glorious color, why limit oneself to just two when designing containers? Because limitations can be . . . liberating. Color is so seductive that it…

  • bold colored plants
    Design

    Some Like It Hot

    Using hot colors in the landscape

  • conifers paired with perennials in the landscape
    Design

    Conifers Should Come First

    When we first bought our house in 2000, I was pregnant. The previous owner had no interest in the garden. Since there was almost nothing planted, I just threw a…

  • krossa regal hostas
    Design

    The Best of the Best Hostas

    STATS Hosta spp. and cvs. USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–9 Conditions: Partial to full shade; moist, rich, well-drained soil Propagation: Division in spring or fall Problems: Deer, slugs, snails Who doesn’t…

  • Four varieties of coreopsis
    Design

    Coreopsis You Can Count On!

    A while back—27 years, to be exact—the Chicago Botanic Garden created a garden solely to compare perennials, and coreopsis was one of the inaugural trials. We tested mostly seed-grown cultivars of…

  • Masterwort
    Design

    Plants That Keep On Giving

    One of the first rules that novice gardeners are ordered to abide by is the necessity of using—and, hence, buying—a minimum of three of the same plant. For aesthetics’ sake,…

  • Design

    Guide to Growing Brunnera

    Good ol’ brunnera, with its cheery forget-me-not–like flowers, is experiencing a renaissance, of sorts—captivating gardeners in recent years with a bevy of new varieties that have incredibly colorful foliage. I…

  • A fence surrounded by soft plantings
    Design

    Designing an Intimate Space

    Many people like to have a garden for entertaining, but most of us also want our gardens to be a spot where we relax and get away from it all.…

  • ‘Axminster Gold’ Comfrey 
    Design

    Trade in Your Troublesome Plants

    If you’ve ever grown plants, odds are that you’ve tried a plant that you couldn’t (or shouldn’t) grow for some reason. Did your grandma grow lilacs on her farm in…

  • ‘Caroline’ clustered campanula
    Design

    The Best Varieties of Campanula

    Contemplating the myriad of campanulas makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. The diversity of floral shapes, blossom colors, and plant habits is both astound­ing and enticing.…