Garden Design

Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia spp. and cvs., Zones 6–9) is one of the most popular and beloved shrubs in the Southeast. But knowing how and when to prune is crucial for ensuring top performance. Here are some tips and best practices to keep in mind when it comes to pruning crape myrtle. This crape myrtle’s dense

A good friend of the GPOD, Cherry Ong, is taking us along on a visit to another public garden. It’s exciting to visit a new garden, and this one didn’t disappoint. The Gardens at HCP consists of 9 acres of demonstration gardens and 100 acres of a conservation park. The gardens were originally named the

What if you could have a garden that basically planted itself? The idea isn’t as far-fetched as you might think. Self-sowing plants are delightfully serendipitous plants that will happily disperse seed without any intervention from you. Yes, there are lots of plants out there that spread indiscriminately and obnoxiously–but those are not the ones we

As Midwest gardeners look out onto our winter landscapes, thoughts of spring are constantly running through our heads. Splashes of color in winter gardens help keep us going until spring arrives. This color might be provided by colorful stems, ornamental bark, or perhaps colorful fruit on select woody plants. These fruits may prove essential as

Today we’re back in Hugh Locke’s garden in Shrub Oak, New York, enjoying some of the beautiful annuals he grew from seed last year. Check out yesterday’s post if you missed the first half of his annual selections, and if you want to see more of his gardening, visit his Instagram. The ‘Kilimanjaro White’ marigold

Today we are visiting Hugh Locke’s garden in Shrub Oak, New York. Hugh’s Zone 6 garden has been showcased before (check it out here), but today’s photos are all annuals (plus a few biennials) that were grown from seed in 2021. He begins starting most seeds in February under lights in his garage, while a few

Trees are a big investment. This isn’t only because they often have a hefty price tag, but also because they take up a lot of garden real estate and aren’t plants that you’ll be able to readily relocate. When choosing a tree, it’s important to make sure it performs in all four seasons. It shouldn’t

Tussie-mussies are small flower bundles that were worn, carried as fashion accessories, and given as gifts during the Victorian era. They were popularized by Queen Victoria, who often carried around a bouquet of flowers in a small metal vase. Horticulturist Wendy Gentry has incorporated the tussie-mussie in her decorations for a nature tree at Nemours

The genus Euphorbia includes a large and diverse group of plants, ranging from petite annuals to huge, long-lived trees, and includes plants as diverse as the much-loved Christmas poinsettia (E. pulcherimma) and the cactus-like crown of throns (E. milii). Sometimes called “spurge,” all euphorbias share the qualities of being remarkably rugged, easy-to-grow plants that are

Today Pam Fraser of Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, Canada, is taking us on a little tropical vacation. A few days ago you asked readers to send some tropical pictures for us to enjoy on these wintry mornings. These are some from a November 2017 trip to Maui, Hawaii. They were taken at the Garden of Eden,

Today’s photos are from Kielian Dewitt. I have gardened in the Bitterroot Valley of Montana (Zone 5b, except when it’s Zone 4) for 15 years. This spring, I thought it would be an interesting study to photograph the front flower garden monthly from the same perspective. It ended up being an interesting collage for posterity

My name is Jill Beringer, and I live in a development in Hockessin, Delaware, on about half an acre. I submitted photos once before when my garden was in its initial phase, but my passion for gardening continues! I keep finding ways to add water features and hardscape walls and paths, partly out of necessity

Today we’re off to Canada, visiting with Bas Suharto. We’ve seen Bas’s home garden before, but today’s garden is one that Bas created for a friend. At the end of summer, I visited the garden I designed and built for a colleague, Ms. Yukie in Orleans, Ontario. I designed it in 2019 after seeing her

I love a cold frosty morning. It’s lovely to wander the garden (coffee in hand to keep my fingers warm) looking for new views of winter magic. This is the time of year when I discover a newfound appreciation for evergreen perennials and broadleaf shrubs. Frost brings out the edges of the foliage on these

My name is Fran. We live on Martha’s Vineyard, an island of Massachusetts. I sent photos last summer (2020). I find beauty in the fall and winter from my gardens. I think of these photos as showing the jewels of fall. The rhododendron buds offer the promise of spring when I see them every day.

Today’s post is from Melissa Grosso in Fountain Hills, Arizona. We’ve visited her garden before and even had a chance to visit her sister’s garden in California. Today she is sharing some of her cold but sunny garden all decked out for the winter holidays. A container filled with greens and decorated with a bow

My name is Renee Minirth. This is fall in my garden. In Memphis, fall lasts into December. Sometimes it’s hard to find good fall color in Southern gardens, but I’ve made it a special project for myself these past couple of years. Japanese maples as well as heat-tolerant conifers supply lots of colors. View of

Today we’re in Wayne, Pennsylvania, visiting Wendy Quereau’s incredible garden. I’ve been gardening here for 43 years and have been trying recently to reduce maintenance by adding shrubs in place of the labor-intensive perennials. I’m still hooked by the inherent joy of growing and designing but admit that I look forward to the winter break.

Hello! I am Rob Chambon. I have been gardening since the fall after my dad passed in 2001. My first place to garden was at Pine Bluffs, a heavily wooded area on a lake. This is where I learned what worked and did not work in shady areas. Over a period of 12 years, I

Today we’re in Hopewell, New Jersey, visiting with Courtney and Denys Turner. We have worked very hard to create hardy but beautiful perennial borders in our back and front gardens, à la Piet Oudolf—the naturalistic style or “new perennial movement.” The back border is against a fence and gets a lot of sun most of

Today we’ve got some photos from Bonnie Plikaytis. Greetings from a North Georgia Zone 7 garden. Every year I like to review my garden photos to determine the “best in show” of the new garden additions. Here are a few photos of some of the best in 2021. Agapanthus are naturally deer resistant, which is

Today we’re visiting southern Maryland in the garden of Avis Veselya. I shared a few pictures of my garden several years back but thought I’d send some updated pictures. They are from several seasons, starting with the hellebores peeking out from under the snow and moving into the flowers of the spring and summer. We

I am Kevin Kelly, and I garden on a suburban property of a third of an acre in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (Zone 6b). Autumn was slow to arrive and is slow to leave. My winter preparation is now complete. I have taken cuttings of my coleus and have moved my tender plants indoors for the winter.

My name is Phillip Oliver, and I sent you photos of my Alabama garden many years ago. Since that time, my husband (Michael) and I relocated across the country to Vancouver, Washington. It has always been a dream of mine to live and garden in the Pacific Northwest. We have been here six years now

Carolyn Hirning, in New Albany, Ohio, went through her photos from the year and is sharing some of her favorites with us today. To begin with, my neighbor’s chickens were unexpected (but welcome) visitors to my front yard. I planted a patch of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca, Zones 3–9) in a small garden bed a

Today Cherry Ong is taking us on the road again to the iconic Butchart Gardens in British Columbia. There are many beautiful sights to be seen in these gardens, but today we’re focusing on some of the tropical plantings. It’s just the kind of escape we need as the weather starts turning cold for most

Perhaps it’s the winter season we’re in right now, or perhaps we’re just hungry, but regardless, we have berries on the mind. This episode highlights some plants that provide us with unexpected (but very appreciated) fruit. It could be a perennial that is grown for its foliage but puts on a late fall show with

Gardeners, when they plant a cherry tree, like to visualize fantastic things, like picking heaps of perfectly ripe, juicy, sweet fruit. If you’ve actually tried to grow a cherry tree, you know that its stores of torment can be bottomless: excessive growth, pollination problems, diseases that rot the fruit or kill the tree, and ravenous

What is a conifer? We think of it as an evergreen plant with needle-like foliage, but a conifer is simply a plant that bears cones. And not all conifers are totally evergreen. Some are deciduous! There is more to this group of plants than meets the eye. Some of the most common genera of conifers

Today we’re visiting Luana Carpenter’s garden in Massillon, Ohio. We’ve visited Luana’s garden before, and it is always a treat to be in this beautiful space. Check it out here. Today’s photos are from the summer when the lilies were stealing the spotlight with their beautiful colors and amazing fragrance. We’ll start with a daylily,