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

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