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

As if 2020 couldn't get more challenging, I have now run head on into a conundrum on coleus or to put it more succinctly a perplexity on pinching. First a little jaunt into my history with coleus. Read more

If the plant world celebrated Oktoberfest, lantanas would be front and center leading the party. As far as The Garden Guy is concerned, it could be a fall lantana fest. Read more

If I could paraphrase some lyrics from the musical Chicago it would be "Come on, why don't we paint the garden, with all those Jazz." That is what I feel every time I see Jazz Hands Variegated loropetalum. This award-winning shrub simply puts a song in your spirit and will add that artist's … Read more

The Price is White looks to be one of the hottest new coneflowers making its debut in the spring and you need to line out your sources now, for not only it but the entire Color Coded series. The size of coneflower blossoms is not something we tout as horticulturists but with The Price is Whi… Read more

The mornings have become like "flower glow" at The Garden Guy's house thanks to three new panicle hydrangeas making their debut in the spring of 2021. I have been amazed at what I am seeing, and to an extent what I am feeling, with these new introductions. Read more

This is the time of the year we revel in the Golden Delicious, of course The Garden Guy is referring to the Rocking Golden Delicious pineapple sage. While we have been loving every minute of it through the long hot summer, it is the short days of early fall that bring on the added cause of c… Read more

Oh, the possibilities with that Wicked witch! Son James dazzled me again with a combination planting featuring this year’s hot new coleus ColorBlaze Wicked with coleus and Canary Wing begonia. Immediately I noticed his carefully intentioned design of having the lime green margins of the cole… Read more

The weather forecast has several days with morning lows in the 50s, which is a cause for celebration. We can look for those long-lost fleece vests and, even better, it gives horticulturists like The Garden Guy the ticket to forget flowers for a week and write about a new golden conifer calle… Read more

There has been an azalea bloom-a-thon at The Garden Guy’s house for the last six weeks and looks to not be stopping anytime soon. This has all been taking place in temperatures that have sometimes made me the irritable garden guy. Read more

There is a Quick Fire, summer crescendo happening in Columbus, Ga. Quick Fire hydrangea has put the spark back in summer-tired gardens and brought a touch of magic to mixed containers. The Garden Guy’s comfort zone has once again been challenged by James, my color design guru and son. Read more

Labor Day weekend is upon us and perhaps you would like to head to the mountains, hike on the Appalachian Trail or lay on a white-sand beach — but love for your mixed containers trumps everything. The solution to this recurring dilemma? AquaPots. Read more

MINNEAPOLIS — When a suspicious-looking sprout appeared in the St. Paul garden of LeAndra Estis, she plucked it. The willful plant popped up again. Instead of pulling it out a second time, the new gardener fired up Google. The would-be intruder was spinach. Read more

Whether you’re begging summer to linger or toasting autumn’s arrival, now’s the perfect time to give your outdoor spaces a little — or a lot — of TLC to ensure bright blooms and blades of grass, and the perfect palette for next year’s garden.   Read more

The first spray opened up in my Oso Easy Peasy rose and I thought, “Wow, they have captured the essence of a fine heirloom.” This was like a breath of fresh air as I had fallen in love with antique and heirloom roses when becoming the director of the American Rose Society years ago. Read more

Truffula Pink gomphrena has already been hotter than the proverbial $2 pistol, but The Garden Guy is here to tell you it is even better than we thought. It has been the champion of all butterfly plants at my house and if your peak butterfly season is September/October and you find them for s… Read more

This year The Garden Guy decided to add some dwarf buddleia into his arsenal of pollinator plants. The idea of 3-foot-tall or less buddleias or butterfly bushes seemed like just what the doctor ordered to be able to incorporate them with lantanas, rudbeckias, gaillardia and salvias for a col… Read more

Every year most of us hit that period where the heat crosses over from hot to oppressive and we know the tough season for our plants has arrived. In much of the country it arrived early and there is one plant that if it could talk would say what heat. This plant is Lemon Coral sedum and its … Read more

Etched Glass may just be the most beautiful hosta I have ever seen or grown. Not only do I find it mesmerizing but as a horticulturist I find it intriguing to know that it comes from a lineage of past champions. Read more

A hungry Eastern Tiger swallowtail butterfly gave The Garden Guy a lesson a couple of days ago and that is, everyone loves an orange smoothie in the summer. As you might suspect I am playing with you, but just a little. Read more

In early June I had the opportunity to attend the Young’s Plant Farm 2020 Trial Garden Tour, which is one of the most prestigious plant trials in the country. Among the showiest flowers were two gaillardias or blanket flowers that made their debut this spring. Heat It Up Yellow and Heat It U… Read more

As you may have gathered, in my garden world lime green rules! Last year when I bought my house, I fantasized about what I would do artistically with the long rock wall that stretched almost the whole width of the backyard. Someone referred to it as a retaining wall and I was incensed; this … Read more

In an area of Japan where the mophead or bigleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea macrophylla, grows wild along the coast line, there is something magical happening higher up in the chilly mountains. This is the home of the mountain hydrangea, Hydrangea serrata. Read more

Typically, the words Royal Hawaiian would direct your thoughts to tropical islands, vacations and exotic getaways among lush foliage and clear blue seas. As wonderful as those dreams seem, I won’t try to anticipate your travel plans for the summer but instead invite you to let the words Roya… Read more

There is a “see-through” phenomenon going on in the world of flowers and it is nothing short of thrilling. This is happening thanks in large part to the mass production of Meteor Showers verbena and to some extent Truffula Pink gomphrena. Read more

New at the garden center this year is one of those petunias that is a rare jewel of a color. It’s one that catches your eye and stops you in your tracks; it is Supertunia Mini Vista Indigo. By all means don’t let the mini throw you for even a second. This is the little indigo that could, or … Read more

It may be called Poquito, which means a little, but I promise you in the case of Poquito Butter Yellow agastache it delivers color to the garden like a champion. In September, this new hummingbird mint won the prestigious Classic City Award in University of Georgia Trials. Read more

The day you look at a Wedgewood Blue Summer Snapdragon is the day you will get hooked and believe anything is possible with today’s flowers. It looks as though each flower is a rare piece of hand-painted porcelain. Wedgewood Blue is part of the Angelface series of summer snapdragons, which r… Read more

Insects and diseases in the vegetable garden and on fruit plantings are minimal under the natural organic program, but the occasional serious pests have relatively easy solutions. Read more

Sunstar is the name of a new series of pentas debuting this spring and it is an understatement to say they are taking the world by storm. There are four colors in the series coming from Proven Winners — pink, red lavender and rose — and all have won awards from north to south. Read more

Goodness, it is proving to be a “wonderfully wicked” year for coleus. In this case wicked is great and promises to add incredible color and texture to your garden. Wicked actually refers to two new colors or varieties in the ColorBlaze series of coleus. If you are like me you probably though… Read more

Every quarantined morning these days I sit on my front steps and watch a bee have its breakfast at a crocus or azalea, a tranquil reminder that while disruptions continue to the world of man, nature moves placidly along. Read more

The last few years, cordylines have seen a remarkable uptick in popularity. Cordyline is a funny name to pronounce, and if you go online, you’ll find at least three different suggestions. The common names are also simply crazy: false dracaena, cabbage tree, and cabbage palm, to name a few. L… Read more

It’s no surprise we’re embracing victory gardens today: During both world wars, patriotic Americans kept the home fires burning — and their soldiers fed — by converting any available space into a garden. It was an act of defiance and self-reliance with a shovel and a hoe. Read more

The winter was such that The Garden Guy’s house has some of the most beautiful flowers ever for mid-April. There are echinacea, coreopsis, dianthus, and salvias galore. The first plant you would walk to however has no blooms yet; it is a shrub that for all appearances seems like “the burning bush.” Read more

Horticulturists like The Garden Guy sometime struggle with capturing the beauty of flowers in certain blues and those that are a deeply saturated, fire engine red. Put the two together and the camera may just have a technical explosion. Read more

Oh my, it’s the bomb! To be exact, it is the Cherry Bomb an incredible mix that I’ve been seeing at garden centers this year featuring Superbells Cherry Star Calibrachoa, Supertunia Black Cherry petunia and the pristine white Snow Princess sweet alyssum. Read more

Americans have been showing their colors a lot since the coronavirus showed up as a special and surely unwanted spring guest. Just as red, white and blue stirs the heart and sends a message as Old Glory hangs from the door, your flowers can echo the theme throughout the landscape. Read more

Forced to shelter in place, most of us are coming down with a bad case of cabin fever. Instead of worrying about the future and whether that scratchy throat you woke up with this morning is something serious, plant a victory garden. Read more

Shazam! All of a sudden everyone is thinking about growing a vegetable garden. Essentials disappearing from the local supermarket is at best a wake-up call. One thing for certain now that families are all together — there is no better way to teach children a little horticulture, pollination … Read more