Garden Design

We all know and love parsley, sage rosemary, and thyme. And then there’s sweet basil which is perhaps the queen of all the herbs. But what about those herbs that are just as tasty—or attractive—but don’t get the same accolades? For those unsung heroes of the herb garden, we put together this episode. You’ll hear

Kat Kinch sent in today’s photos of a garden transformation. My mom, Pat, a retired teacher, was increasingly concerned that a huge, old red maple in close proximity to her house would one day end up in her bedroom in a summer storm. With no small amount of regret, she decided to have it taken

Today’s photos are from Cherry Ong in Richmond, British Columbia. I wanted to share with you some amazing container garden designs by Hunter Norminton. I volunteer for a local nursery. Hunter joined the nursery part-time last year (he’s a student and has no formal horticultural training but was highly influenced by his mom), and he

Today we’re visiting the garden of Carol Ann Bell in Greenville, South Carolina, with photos sent in by her friend Ellen Kirby: My garden has been a respite during the 30  years we have lived here in Greenville, South Carolina.  As my three children grew up,  I had more time for gardening, although I have worked hard to

Today’s photos are from Virginia Sherry, who is the founder of the Native Plant Society of Staten Island. I am writing from Staten Island, New York, to share photos of my summer garden, which I have developed over the past 10 years to support pollinators. Many of the species are blooming; others will flower soon.

If you haven’t noticed, there are suddenly more hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9) for northern gardeners than ever before. If you’ve become frustrated with getting a hydrangea to bloom in the Northeast, you have the wrong species. It’s easy to become confused with hydrangeas, as most are sold under their variety names. Also,

Friend of the GPOD Cherry Ong took a trip recently from her home on the west coast of Canada to Toronto and sent in some shots from gardens she was able to visit. Today she’s taking us along to see the Toronto Botanical Garden. This is the Terraced Garden, which is described on the website

Today Cherry Ong is once again taking us along on a garden tour from her recent trip to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This time, visiting The Gardens of Spadina Museum. According to Cherry, how you pronounce the name “Spadina” depends on where in Toronto you are from, either Spa-dye-na or Spa-Dee-nah. This historic mansion tells the

I had to start growing escarole and endive after hearing emotional tales from my mother-in-law and her sisters about their family’s holiday meals—multicourse, gut-busting, Italian-American feasts in which escarole soup was the prominent first course. Because I always listen to my mother-in-law, I tried growing escarole in my garden. I found that escarole soup deserved

Amy is taking us along on a visit to an incredible garden today. A visit to Bill and Linda Pinkham’s Virginia garden in each of the four seasons always charms me with new delights. Last fall I submitted photos of their garden that highlighted the value of evergreens for structure and the beauty of decay

According to NASA Earth Observatory, one-third of the United States experienced some level of drought in 2020 and 2021 was much the same. This pattern of extended dry weather is sadly becoming more and more of the norm. We recently did a feature in Fine Gardening magazine highlighting a series of drought tolerant woody plants

Today we’re seeing photos of Marina’s beautiful garden in Beeton, Ontario, which is thriving despite a challenging start. I just wanted to share a few pictures of my garden. I started it in 2018 after we moved to a newly constructed house and waited for a couple of years for our yard to be graded

Yes, I realize that 2021 was the hottest on record with temperatures reaching 108°F, and we can expect the weather to continue to change radically. However, along with drought-tolerant plant choices we should also consider water-loving perennial plants. As wet as the climate can be in the Pacific Northwest, we should all be embracing plants

Gardeners across the world love the North American–native black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta, Zones 3–8), also called gloriosa daisy. This straight species is particularly useful in cottage gardens, meadow landscapes, or pollinator gardens. Its native distribution is vast, stretching from North Florida into Canada. It’s often found in open landscapes with full sun. A high-summer bloomer

Frequent GPOD contributor Cherry Ong took a trip to Toronto recently and got the chance to tour some beautiful gardens. And, lucky for us, she took a lot of beautiful photos. I attended the Through the Garden Gate Wychwood garden tours offered by the Toronto Botanical Gardens. The garden description from the tour brochure says

Deb Jedynak is sharing her garden with us today. I’ve been gardening since 1985 when my husband and I purchased our first home in Chicago. When we moved in, the garden was a mess and thoroughly neglected. It took me years to get it the way I wanted it. I studied horticulture and became a

Jane is sharing her northern Illinois garden with us today. This year the weather has been favorable for my plants to flourish, with periodic rain and warmth despite the windy conditions in northern Illinois. The show started with lots of bulbs as the garden woke up. You can see the weigela (Weigela florida, Zones 5–9)

Today we’re headed to Florida to visit Linda Robert’s subtropical garden. My mom and I started working on what we call “the jungle garden” 17 years ago. It was just mud and pine trees when we started. She lived in the casita (guest house) to our “hacienda.” And in that time it has been knocked

Today Sallie Boge is sharing a unique garden space: The St. Mary Church Garden Ministry in Riverside, Illinois, grows a vegetable/herb/fruit garden for charity food pantries. Our garden is consistently the number-one seasonlong producer for Share the Harvest, which organizes home gardeners to supply fresh, homegrown food to food pantries in the Chicago area. To

When it comes to underappreciated perennials that deserve more attention, penstemon, or beardtongue (Penstemon spp. and cvs., Zones 3–9) is among those at the top of my list. This genus is a pollinator magnet and is endemic to North and Central America, with roughly 230 to 280 species. Of these, 93 make their home in