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Add A Blast of Sunshine with Yellow Flowers for Water a Flower Day
Nothing quite brightens a mood like cheerful yellow flowers. There are loads of annuals and perennials that bring this bright splash of color to your garden. The contrast of the cheerful color against the green leaves makes a fabulous play in a garden bed. Did you know that May 30 is Water a Flower Day? […]
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Amazing Rose Photos
Roses are one of the most popular flowers. They make great cut flowers, are right at home in any perennial garden, and are easy to grow. Roses also come in an astounding number of shades, sizes, and petal colors. These amazing rose photos show the versatility of the popular plant. This rose by Shakespeare says […]
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Summer Garden Tips & Garden Tour – Garden Maintenance in the Summer
My gardens are the big love of my life this time of the year. I spend hours outside tending them. I have 10 garden beds on a block that is about 1/2 acre and I do things to improve the look of them each year. These summer garden tips will ensure that you have […]
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Red Hot Poker – Growing and Caring for Torch Lilies
The red hot poker is a showy and dramatic plant. If you love growing perennials that give color all summer long, this is the plant for you. Other names for this showy plant are torch lily and poker plant. The botanical name for this plant is kniphofia uvaria and there are more than 70 known species […]
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How to Preserve Flowers with Borax
If you love the look of dried flowers in your home, don’t buy them. It is easy to preserve flowers yourself with two common household ingredients: Borax and Cornmeal. One of the true joys of gardening is having so many flowers in my garden. I sometimes cut them to bring indoors, and also like to dry […]
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Chocolate Cosmos – One of the Rarest Flowers
There are many chocolate colored flowers available, but Chocolate Cosmos gets a special boost. I give it this rating because, not only does it have a lovely dark chocolate fragrance, but it is also one of the top 10 rarest flowers in the world. The plant is a perennial and is easy to grow and […]
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Growing Begonias – The Showy Houseplant with Amazing Flowers and Leaves
Begonias are a very popular plant worldwide. They are used as bedding plants and can also be grown as indoor plants. There are lots of different leaf types, colors and flower formations. Growing begonias is a little bit of a challenge but you should do fine as long as you follow a few tips. Tips for […]
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Seed Types: Open Pollinated, Heirloom and Hybrid.
Are you an avid gardener? If you are, you may have wondered about the various seed types available for planting. The vegetable and flower growing season is getting closer with each passing day. Here in NC, we have had unseasonably warm weather. It SEEMS that spring has sprung but I still don’t dare really get gardening […]
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Flower Pins – Great Gifts for Garden Lovers
If you have an avid gardener in your life, (or you are one!)you will know that they think about gardening most of the time. When the weather is cold like it is right now, and gardeners are not able to tend to their gardens, all is not lost. These flower pins make the perfect gift […]
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Astilbe Colors – The Stars of a Shade Garden
Astilbe is one of my favorite perennials for a shade garden. There are not many plants that really like the shade that also flower beautifully, but Astilbe is one of them. Astilbe colors could even be called the stars of a shady garden. Astilbe makes a wonderful border edging plant for a large garden bed. […]
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African Violets – Tips for the Care of this Popular Indoor Plant
If you go to the big box hardware stores around the holidays and during the winter months, you will most likely find African Violets for sale in a lovely variety of flower colors. Even though African Violets can be somewhat picky about care, they are still one of the most popular indoor plants grown. If you […]
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Osiria Rose Photo Gallery of This Hard to Find Hybrid Tea Rose
I thought it would be nice to start an Osiria Rose Photo Gallery. If you love growing perennials, it may be worth trying to find this Osiria rose, in spite of its reported growing problems. Osiria Rose is a hybrid tea rose that was first hybridized in Germany by Mr. Reimer Kordes of Germany in 1978. […]
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Biltmore Estate Gardens Tour
Biltmore Estate Gardens are a highlight of a visit to this iconic estate in Western North Carolina. The gardens, while not classified as a Botanical Gardens per se, is a fabulous place to see plants of all types. My husband and I recently spent several days in the mountains of North Carolina with our daughter. […]
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My Favorite Daylilies – A Garden Tour
I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite daylilies in a garden tour. When it comes to versatility, blossoms and easy of care, very few perennials can match daylilies. They give a magnificent show of flowers, and sometimes more than once during the summer season. They can be managed by […]
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The White Garden – Raleigh Botanical Gardens
We recently had visitors from the UK who are gardeners, so we took them to JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh for a visit. One of my favorite parts of the gardens is The White Garden. It is a wonderful place to spend a day. You can walk around and enjoy Easter lilies, white agapanthus and […]
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Plant Propagation Tips – New Plants for Free
Follow some of these plant propagation tips and you will have a whole slew of new perennial garden plants without the outlay of cash at the garden center. If you garden, you will know that the cost of buying new plants can get very expensive over time. You don’t have to spend a lot of money […]
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Teddy Bear Sunflowers – A Cuddly Giant Flower
I love all sorts of sunflowers. They are my daughter’s favorite flower and I plant them in all of my garden beds each year. I have some in my test garden that are about 7 feet tall right now and still not opened. I plant the large yellow type and rust colored ones too, but […]
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DIY Newspaper Seed Pots
These DIY newspaper seed pots cost almost nothing and make perfect containers for your seeds. They are a fun budget garden project that the kids will love. Starting seeds indoors in the late winter and early spring really increases the time that you can enjoy your vegetable garden in the growing season. Doing this gives […]
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Early Spring Garden Projects
These early spring garden projects will get a jump start on your garden and will get you outside too! From lawn care ideas to tips for growing perennials in the spring, i’ve got you covered. I know that in most parts of the country, the ground is still covered with snow, but as any good […]
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My North Carolina Winter Garden
My North Carolina winter garden is a sight to behold right now. Winter storm Jonas has been all in the news this week. It left a blanket of snow and ice from the South in the US right up the corridor to New England. Winter storm Jonas may break some records on the east coast! […]
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Cyclamens and Christmas Cactus – 2 Favorite Seasonal Plants
Two holiday plants that I love are cyclamens and Christmas cactus. Both of these make fabulous indoor plants and give a lot of color to your decor during the cold winter months. During the festive season, there are many different seasonal plants on offer at most garden centers. They add a lovely touch to your […]
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17 Tips for Creating a Cottage Garden
I love a cottage garden. I am not a rule follower by nature, especially when it comes to gardens, and I love the way a cottage garden throws caution to the wind in the rule department. Do you like lots of flowers, flowing lines and a not so formal look? Then a cottage garden might […]
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Garden Make Over – 14 Tips for a Success – Before & After
This year, we spent the summer on a garden make over. I thought it would be fun to share the tips that I learned during the process. It’s that time again. Time to transform one of my garden beds that just won’t seem to keep to a single design. I call it my “what will […]
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Fresh Herbs – Annual, Perennial or Biennial – Which is Yours?
There is nothing quite like the flavor of fresh herbs for cooking. Growing herbs is something that many cooks try their hand at, to have them on hand all the time. Do you know whether the one you are growing is an annual, \perennial or biennial? This can sometimes be confusing and the answer is not […]
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Motivational Quotes to Inspire you
With each new year, I am filled with the hope of things to come and also reflect on the year that passed. I find comfort in motivational sayings to help me keep on track for the resolutions that I have just made for the new year. Many of these photos come from flowers in my […]
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Nature Photos- A collection of Nature at Its Best
There are times that I am simply amazed by the beautiful, unusual and sometimes humble side of our planet. I especially love unusual nature photos. Since I am a gardener, it stands to reason that I love everything beautiful in nature. I thought it would be fun to have an ongoing page featuring some of […]