Plants

June occupies a unique and particularly exciting position in the growing calendar. It is the month when spring finally hands over to summer in earnest — when the last of the cool-season crops are reaching their peak and the first of the warm-season harvest is beginning to arrive. The kitchen garden in June is a … Read more

Summer is the most abundant and generous season in the kitchen garden. After the slow, careful work of spring — the seed sowing, the pricking out, the hardening off, the patient waiting — summer arrives with a sudden, almost overwhelming rush of growth, color, and harvest. Beds that seemed sparse and tentative in May transform … Read more

Daylilies are among the most popular and widely grown perennials in the world, and for good reason. They are tough, adaptable, drought-tolerant, and remarkably undemanding — plants that ask very little of the gardener while delivering a flower display that few other perennials can rival for sheer exuberance. From compact dwarf varieties suitable for container … Read more

Few flowers command a garden quite like a lily in full bloom. Tall, architectural, and often intensely fragrant, lilies have been cultivated and celebrated for thousands of years — appearing in ancient Egyptian art, Greek mythology, medieval European gardens, and the cutting gardens of the modern world. Their flowers are among the most structurally dramatic … Read more

There is a persistent myth in gardening culture that the growing season ends when the first frost arrives. For gardeners in cold climates, this belief has led generations of people to abandon their plots in early autumn, pull up the last of the summer crops, and wait out the long months until warmth returns. But … Read more

For anyone keeping a backyard flock or running a small farm in a region where winters arrive hard and stay long, choosing the right chicken breed is one of the most important decisions a poultry keeper can make. A breed that thrives in a warm southern climate may struggle badly when temperatures plummet, reducing egg … Read more

Avocados have long carried the reputation of being strictly tropical fruits — lush, sun-loving, and completely intolerant of anything resembling a cold snap. For most of history, that reputation kept avocado growing firmly in the hands of those lucky enough to live in warm, frost-free climates. But that picture has changed considerably over the past … Read more

Tomatoes are the undisputed kings of the kitchen garden — no other vegetable inspires quite the same level of devotion, anticipation, or competitive pride among home growers. From the first seedlings placed on a windowsill in early spring to the triumphant harvest of a sun-warmed fruit still on the vine, growing tomatoes is one of … Read more

Mangoes are widely regarded as one of the most delicious fruits on earth — sweet, fragrant, and richly flavored in ways that few other fruits can match. For centuries they have been cultivated across the tropics, and for just as long, gardeners and fruit growers in cooler climates have envied those who could harvest them … Read more

Drought tolerant roses are rose varieties that can thrive with less frequent watering once established. These roses are valued in dry climates and water-wise landscapes because they continue to bloom and grow well during periods of heat and limited rainfall. Many drought resistant roses develop deep root systems that help them access moisture from the … Read more