Imagine an annual plant that grows with weed-like abandon, yet its multitude of flowers can last for months in dry arrangements.  Flowers are violet-purple and bloom from late spring through fall.  L...

Do you have any recommendations for plants that repel dogs or do you have a suggestion for something to sprinkle on the lawn that would be helpful to the lawn but repellent (but of course not harmful...

The unusually hot and dry weather we have experienced this winter is causing consternation in some quarters.  What if there should suddenly be a deluge of rain or a cold snap?  Would this radical wea...

If you are looking for a tropical paradise, you don’t need to book a flight to Hawaii.  Just pay a visit to Palos Verdes Peninsula. I was recently privileged to visit the garden of Richard Lynch is S...

I’m in love with a ballerina — a ‘Ballerina’ rose, that is. ‘Ballerina’ is a hybrid musk rose and hybrid musks, for reasons beyond comprehension, are seldom seen in the nursery trade. Hybrid musks ar...

If you see yellow foliage on your gardenia bush and, after trying everything to ameliorate the situation, still see yellow and, even worse, fear that your plant may soon be ready for the compost heap...

Zinnias are my favorite annual summer flowers, and I say this for four reasons: • They are as colorful as a kaliedoscopic rainbow. • Their many petaled blooms, like those ruffled collars seen on 17th...

“Brand New,” “New and Improved,” “All New.”  We are all familiar with these advertising slogans.  They must be effective because we keep hearing and seeing them, over and over again. Lust for somethi...

Like gardeners everywhere, I recognized the potential of foliage as an element of garden design with my first glimpse of a plant with variegated leaves. Initially, I thought I was looking at a plant ...