You’ve spent hours and perhaps significant sums creating the garden of your dreams. Hanging baskets, window boxes, and large and small containers abound in your beautiful oasis. But like mostly everyone in the summer, you enjoy taking a break from home and go on vacation for a few days or more. So how do you…
When I was younger I would watch Monarch butterflies float gracefully from flower to flower in my backyard. It was an every day occurence in the summer. Sadly, it is now only the very rare occassion when I spot one of these beauties, let alone more than one! Because their numbers are diminishing at a…
You probably know it as the Flamingo Flower, Laceleaf, Tailflower, or Painter’s Pallette. Actually, its true name is Anthurium. Its name comes from the Greek words anthos and oura, meaning flower and tail respectively. The tail refers to the spadix of the plant protruding from the center of the “flower”. Regardless of what you call…
Bird of Paradise plants add a lovely island feel to any garden. They can be grown as a specimen plant both inside and out. If you grow the plant outside, you will have continuous blossoms throughout the heat of the summer. However, if you choose to grow the Bird of Paradise as an indoor plant,…
I am now listening to the “Laid Back Beach Music” station on Pandora featuring Bob Marley, and it’s immediately transporting me back to the tropics. The January before lockdown, my husband and I were fortunate enough to fit in a vacation to Antigua. I was overwhelmed by the beautiful surroundings full of lush palm trees…
If you were like me, you probably started to think about your flower garden in early spring or even late winter! After careful consideration as to location, soil needs, and water distribution, you selected a perfect spot to create your own oasis. Your garden looks beautiful! At least for now. Read on to learn how…
Close your eyes and imagine you’re on a tropical island filled with exotic flowers, wonderful aromas, and lush greenery. You can create a similar tropical oasis in your own backyard by planting the many varieties of Hibiscus plants. These huge, bell-shaped blossoms bloom in the heat of the summer through fall and add beautiful color…
So, last year I was vigilantly tracking, capturing, and killing spotted lanternflies. I was quite proud of myself because none of my plants, shrubs, or trees were overtaken by them. But, alas, all good things come to an end. I just spied them the other day in their nymph stage attached to the stems of…
Bugs! Not many people enjoy sharing their space with insects. Insects have a habit of presenting themselves at the most inopportune times, while resting in your garden after a long day’s work, sharing a meal outside under the stars, or just having an intimate conversation with someone special under the shade of a pergola. Some…
Whenever I hear the term cottage garden, I conjure up images of hidden oases of beautiful flowing flowers nestled behind old thatched roofed houses in the Cotswolds of England. Some may call them English gardens, but there is a slight distinction. So, what is a cottage garden? It was one of the 2021 garden trends…
