Plants

Few gardening problems are as persistent — or as soul-draining — as weeds. They muscle their way into every bare patch of soil, robbing your cultivated plants of water, nutrients, and light. But there is a smarter strategy than perpetual hand-pulling: let plants fight plants. Ground covers are low-growing plants that spread deliberately, creating a … Read more

Shade is one of the most common challenges in garden design, and one of the most frequently misunderstood. Many gardeners treat shaded areas as problem spaces — awkward corners beneath mature trees, the north-facing side of a house, the strip of ground between a fence and an overhanging boundary hedge — as though the absence … Read more

May is the most important planting month of the year for vegetable and flower gardeners across a large portion of the United States. It is the month when winter’s grip has finally released in most regions, soil temperatures have risen enough to support strong germination and root development, and the growing season stretches ahead with … Read more

May is one of the most productive and satisfying months in the entire gardening calendar for getting plants into the ground. The soil has warmed after winter, the days are long and full of light, and the risk of damaging late frosts — while not entirely gone in the first weeks of the month — … Read more

May is one of the most exciting months in the kitchen garden. After the slow, careful work of early spring — the seed sowing, the waiting, the anxiety over late frosts — the garden suddenly begins to deliver on its promises. Growth accelerates, beds fill out, and the first proper harvests of the year begin … Read more

May is one of the most anticipatory months in the fruit grower’s calendar. The trees are in blossom, the canes and bushes are leafing out with fresh green growth, and the first tentative fruits of the year are beginning to form from the flowers that have been steadily opening through the warm days of late … Read more

Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia) is a genus of striking flowering plants in the Strelitziaceae family, comprising five species native to the subtropical and tropical regions of South Africa. The genus was named in honor of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III of Britain, by the botanist Sir Joseph Banks following his voyages … Read more

Periwinkle (Vinca) is a genus of flowering plants in the Apocynaceae family, consisting of around six to seven species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, with the most commonly cultivated species being Vinca minor (lesser periwinkle) and Vinca major (greater periwinkle). The name “periwinkle” is believed to derive from the Latin pervinca, possibly … Read more

Goldenrod (Solidago) is a genus of flowering plants in the Asteraceae family, comprising roughly 100 to 120 species native primarily to North America, with a smaller number of species found in Europe, Asia, and South America. The name Solidago is derived from the Latin word meaning “to make whole,” a reference to the plant’s long-standing … Read more

Bellflower (Campanula) is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants belonging to the Campanulaceae family, comprising over 500 species distributed across the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name Campanula is derived from the Latin word for “little bell,” a perfectly fitting description for the plant’s most iconic feature — its delicate, nodding, … Read more