No color stirs the passion in serious gardeners like blue. Sure, we like orange, yellow, red and pink, but blue is the must-have color for mixed containers and baskets. It is like having sapphires in our pocket plantings by the front entrance to the home. It is for this reason The Garden Guy… Read more

The biggest surprise in The Garden Guy’s testing this year comes courtesy of the Soprano impatiens. I cannot remember the last time I planted what we call bedding impatiens. I sure I had dark hair and was still helping children with homework. All I can say is, holy wow. Read more

The first few chilly evenings in September have gardeners considering their plan for fall — planting, pruning, harvesting, transplanting and prepping for spring. Pro tip: there’s more you can plant (and plan) than you think. Read more

The Garden Guy is boldly going into August with geraniums blazing. I could also say I am going into August with Boldly geraniums blazing. It wasn’t too long ago that August and geraniums in the South would have been the definition of a garden oxymoron. Boldly geraniums have changed all that. Read more

If someone had told me that there was a heliotrope that could hang with a lantana over a long hot and wet summer, I would have said sure, when pigs fly. Well, clear Runway One because Augusta Lavender is arriving for spring 2022. Read more

If you have thought about growing calla lilies but doubted your abilities, know this: If I can do it, you can too! I was sent some bulbs for testing in late April. My first bloom was around June 1 and I still have dozens of blooms and can see more coming, but like you, I am still doubting myself. Read more

This morning I was up early (for me) and could barely make out the plants outside. But I saw the Superbells calibrachoas moving as if a ghost were in the midst. I knew immediately it was a Ruby-throated hummingbird wasting no time in the daily feeding ritual. Read more

Sweet Caroline Medusa Green is an architectural plant of the first order. Read more

"Good golly, Miss Molly. How beautiful you are." Read more

Everyone has heard that old saying: You can lead a horse to the trough, and if he doesn’t drink, make it a planter. Read more

While the Pacific Northwest has gotten the most attention for its heat wave a quarter of the state of California remains in an “exceptional drought,” the most severe category possible. Read more

The National Garden Bureau has designated 2021 as The Year of the Sunflower. If you choose to participate, I have the plant for you: Suncredible Yellow, a new everblooming bush variety. Read more

Until further notice, I vote Tuff Stuff Ah-Ha as the most beautiful hydrangea no one knows about. Read more

You may have heard the old saying, "That plant is so easy to grow, all you have to do is plant the green-side up." I am here to tell you when it comes to Heart to Heart caladium tubers, all you have to do is plant the white side up. Read more

"Does Your Nose Know What My Nose Knows?" was the name of a creative article written by an author during my time as the executive director of the American Rose Society. The reference was to the fragrance found in roses. Read more

As strange as it sounds, my secret garden is a daylily garden. This doesn’t mean I am a closet daylily enthusiast, quite the opposite. It started a couple of years ago when my wife, Jan, said the side of our house was an embarrassment, and we needed plants. To be honest it was rather a sort … Read more

Sitting on the couch sometime last winter with my trusty perennial catalogue in hand, I gawked over the Pyromania Red Hot Pokers, or torch lilies. We grew Red Hot Pokers at the Columbus Botanical Garden and at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Garden in Savannah. Why not at The Garden Guy’s house? Read more

Shadowland Autumn Frost is an award-winning hosta that will stop you in your tracks. Read more

The answer given when the mayor asked a friend of mine in the nursery industry how best to improve the image of the small but growing city? "Plant flowers." You might think this would be the obvious answer from someone in the greenhouse industry as they would stand to benefit from this beaut… Read more

Stop the presses and throw all of your preconceived notions about the monarda or bee balm out the door. I swear, I have had marigolds taller than these new monardas. I have more flowers now on my monardas than I normally get from an entire season’s bloom. I am talking about the Leading Lady series. Read more

If there were a color that represents happiness in the garden, it would have to be yellow. One of the three primary colors, it has the power to evoke hope and excitement. When the forsythia breaks forth in the early spring, it not only catches your eye, it invigorates your step. Winter is ov… Read more

There are gardens of untold beauty for whom the coral bells show — and I know many of you in the South desperately want them. Just think all of those pages of gorgeous heuchera varieties (coral bells) have their DNA forever linked to natives in the United States. Read more

Spring has been incredible at The Garden Guy’s house, and I am absolutely thankful for the Superbena Stormburst verbena. Swallowtails and hummingbirds came really early this year, not only in Georgia but throughout the Southeast. Read more

Petunias for pollinators could be paradise. Read more

The Garden Guy traveled for a few days to speak in Lafayette, Louisiana, LA and returned home to see my "punch" had exploded in color. I am referring to Superbells Calibrachoas Pomegranate Punch, Grape Punch and Tangerine Punch. There are seven punch selections in what has now become a whopp… Read more

Dad, you’ve got to come look at this spring combination, said my color deign guru son, James. It made me want to scream wow because it was so beautiful. He chuckled, saying it was kind of an accident. The stunning partnership featured Double Play Candy Corn spirea and Primo Wild Rose heucher… Read more

On more than one occasion I have been guilty of warning gardeners about the perils of being out phloxed by their neighbors. If this happens your neighbors will certainly have the MOST dazzling landscape in the neighborhood. Should you feel that this danger is creeping upon you and your flowe… Read more

Machu Morado is one of the most intriguing new plants in both name and performance. In reality it is a dream come true but I’ll explain. First it is a Mexican petunia or Ruellia, the gregarious "Uncle Buck" of the Acanthus family. A lot of gardening folks think it is a petunia. Read more

CHICAGO – First, the bleak butterfly news: The population of monarchs passing the winter in Mexico appears to have fallen. Now, the good news for Illinois’ state insect: The Field Museum in Chicago is trying to figure out what makes a successful urban monarch garden, and it’s not too early t… Read more

It’s fun to see what all of the horticultural pundits write about after the plant trials run their course across the country. I can tell you that Medusa was, and still is, the talk of the town. I know you are already wondering Medusa who, and does she have snakes coming out of her head? The … Read more

A quinceanera is a celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday, with its cultural roots in Mexico and throughout Latin America. While I am not exactly sure of the birthday, it was 15 years ago that our girl of the plant world Senorita Rosalita cleome won her first award. Today she has won 237 of t… Read more

The Garden Guy was looking at photos of last year’s trials and I was struck by one of a Mecardonia. I have never written about this plant and was thinking there is a great chance for my readers who do not know about how wonderful and tough as nails this flower is, particularly the award-winn… Read more

The National Garden Bureau has declared 2021 "The Year of the Hardy Hibiscus" and The Garden Guy thinks this is absolutely terrific. Actually, I would go a-step further and say it is Summerific! Read more

Two Garden Treasures have come together for a magnificent purpose and that is getting food to those who need it most. It is a story that is still being written and one that will tug at gardeners' hearts across the country. Read more

Last summer as my wife Jan and I were relaxing on the patio, a little breeze suddenly placed us under the spell of a smell, a most tantalizing fragrance. If you have ever heard that old phrase "does your nose know what my nose knows," I can tell you her nose knows a lot more than most and sh… Read more

Just saying the word coral sun warms the spirit and makes one forget the impending split of the polar vortex and plunge into a deep winter. Yes, coral sun conjures up a vision of a South Pacific sunset, sitting on a beach with an adult fruit drink with one of those tiny umbrellas. Read more

Rainbow Rhythm King of the Ages day lily has the gardening world abuzz with anticipation for spring 2021. This is a 38-inch-tall new day lily making its debut and offering the rarest of colors in the garden world. It is a combination of butter yellow, peach and apricot blend. That would be e… Read more

Pantone, the gurus of all things color has selected Ultimate Gray and Illuminating Yellow for the 2021 colors of the year. Some headlines call it "Pandemic Gray" but The Garden Guy loves it and you will see it opens the door to one of the toughest, persevering and award-winning plants of all… Read more

The Garden Guy fell in love with calendulas a long time ago and then suddenly they became like the four-leaf clover, at the garden center. Hopefully Lady Godiva will change all of that. If you have never grown this Aster family member you are in for a treat. Read more

Fall planting of petunias was a great idea. The period right after Christmas has always been kind of like a breather for garden gurus as we pause to evaluate plants and ideas that we have put into place in our landscape or perhaps watched other seasoned professionals try Read more

The floral world has been turned upside down in 2020 and thankfully not by COVID challenges but by an idea long in coming to fruition. I’ll call it a Heart to Heart Christmas. Indoor decorating for Christmas 2020 has been given a new jolt and that appropriately involves a plant that has long… Read more

In Georgia we had a year that was pretty much miraculous for butterflies. As you might guess, The Garden Guy had an abundance of plants making sure pollinators of all sorts felt welcome in the garden. In May I wrote a column telling you about a new Sunstar pentas series of making their debut. Read more

This year with all of its challenges many gardeners have experienced a "Call of the Wild" type moment. It's not a call to plant a jungle, or a xeriscape, but to plant with an eye toward the environment and nature. If you find yourself in this category then I would like to give a shout out to… Read more

Blue Moon on Halloween, Northern Lights creeping south, and now Jupiter and Saturn snuggling close for the first time since the Middle Ages. So goes the year 2020 and all of its memories. To The Garden Guy all of these "Twilight Zone" moments may pale in comparison to the Halley's Comet-type… Read more

The cool season becomes like a garden celebration as much of the country changes out the old tired color of summer for the fresh new flowers of fall and fragrance. There is a White Knight leading the charge that opens up the door with endless companion possibilities. Read more

There is an excitement in the air about Christmas this year and it appears to be as contagious as....... you know. Right now, it doesn't seem to be about presents or shopping, though that will probably come. It seems to have a focus on tradition, on family, a return to what is important. The… Read more