Garden Gate

There are a whole lot of reasons why we garden. It may start with the practical returns, like growing your own food or improving your property value with attractive landscaping. Eventually you enjoy a sense of accomplishment, and might even get a few

The Illustrated Guide to Home Gardening and Design® EXECUTIVE EDITOR Kristin Beane Sullivan EXECUTIVE ART DIRECTOR Eric Flynn SENIOR EDITOR Sherri Ribbey TEST GARDEN MANAGER/ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jennifer Howell ASSOCIATE EDITOR Marisa Reyes DIGITAL

Rebecca Sweet, CA If you have a heavy insect pest infestation taking over your garden, you might want to harness all the resources available. Oak tree worms devoured Rebecca’s garden every spring so she worked to bring more insect-eating birds into

Appearance If you glimpse these speedy ground beetles, you’ll be amazed by the massive 1¼-inch size and the colorful metallic green and violet body with iridescent red margins. Let these beneficial bugs, also known as caterpillar hunters, scurry on t

→ Great shade trees because of their wide canopies→ Single specimens make a statement→ Create solid backgrounds when grouped→ Soften edges of buildings nicely Ohio buckeye Aesculus glabra 20 to 40 ft. tall and wide; cold hardy in USDA zones 3 to 7 Ri

Gardening is so rewarding, but it does come with some challenges. Sometimes greedy deer make a buffet of your borders or swarms of Japanese beetles chew up plants. Or bad soil and juglone-producing walnut trees can inhibit plant growth. If you strugg

If you’re trying to make your garden more pollinator friendly, knowing which plants to grow is key. Sam Hoadley, manager of horticultural research at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware, leads a team of researchers who conduct plant trials on native plant sp

Name a plant that is easy to grow, blooms nonstop from summer through fall, is practically maintenance free and is grown worldwide. If you said “marigold,” you would be right. And if you think this plant is boring, let me tell you all the reasons thi

Miscanthus sinensis Maiden grass, or Chinese silver grass, is a hardy, low-maintenance perennial that adds structure and texture almost all year. This airy, clump-forming ornamental grass grows 1 to 12 feet tall and 1 to 6 feet wide, depending on th

While there is usually some truth behind every myth, sometimes an idea captures gardeners’ imaginations and is eventually accepted as fact, even though the research doesn’t necessarily back it up. Here’s the lowdown on 12 common beliefs. These facts

Q What’s the best time to feed spring-blooming bulbs, such as tulips (Tulipa hybrids) and daffodils (Narcissus hybrids)? Pat Veach, PA A It takes time for the fertilizer to percolate through the soil to where it can be taken up by the roots, so fe

What it looks like Grasses are hard to distinguish. But dig into a clump of quackgrass and you’ll spot the best identifier — the tangle of segmented pale buff to white roots. From early spring until late fall, this aggressive perennial has narrow, sl

Established in 1982, KidsGardening.org provides a wide array of free educational resources, projects and lesson plans for teachers, care providers, parents and garden clubs to help all kids have the opportunity to play and learn through gardening. Gr

Is it just me, or do tomatoes have a secret supernatural ability to notice when you’ve gone on vacation? They seem to sense the moment you are unable to check on them daily and go completely bonkers and take over your entire backyard. BACK TO REALITY