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…
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…
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…
Gardening in the summer months can be a challenge. These 5 tips for a flourishing summer garden will help to get the best out of your plants, both outdoors and inside. If you’re late to the game on spring gardening, no fear. There’s still time to create a beautiful, vivacious garden at home. Given the…
Add some sun faces for unique wall decor in your sunroom. One of my neighbors has a great collection of sun faces on the wall of their sun room. You can see it featured in the main photo of this collage. The sun is often portrayed with a face. The roundness and brightness of it…
My local garden center does not often have plants that are too much out of the ordinary, so I was delighted to find this Mexican Hat coneflower right here for sale in Raleigh. This interesting variety of coneflower is also called the “Red Prairie Coneflower.” The perennial served as a dye source for Native Americans…
Each year I think about my grandmother with nostalgia when I plant seeds from her heirloom beans. My family comes from a long line of vegetable gardeners. I can still remember when my great grandmother had her vegetable garden, I used to wander through it when I was about 6. My grandfather on my mother’s…
I have several butterfly bushes, also known as buddleija, in my garden beds. I love them because they attract butterflies and bees like no other plant in my garden. My main butterfly bush was put in a large island bed early this spring, when it was about 12″ tall. It is now at least 5…
My husband used to buy me lilies all the time because he loved the look of them so much. I love them too, but not as cut flowers indoors (they have a stinky smell inside that I don’t like.) I never had the inclination to tell him that they were not my favorite cut flower…
Red Vols Daylily is a spectacular daylily that was a Better Homes and Gardens winner of the year in 2000 and it’s easy to see why. Anyone who gets interested in growing perennials while find themselves also interested in daylilies. These showing perennial bulbs are dramatic, come back year after year and are easy to…
These are some more of my favorite Fourth of July recipes. They are sure to add a patriotic flair to any gathering with friends. July is a month for foodies. Lots of national days are devoted to celebrating the 4th of July with food. From delicious cakes to decadent cocktails, these recipes all use the…
One of my favorite things to do on Sunday morning is to meet friends for breakfast or brunch and catch up on the week. Normally, we go out to a variety of restaurants and alternate each week between them. This week, I wanted to have our friends over to our house for breakfast. I’ve been…
Gladiolus bulbs are one of my father’s favorite. I added them to my garden bed that features flowers from five generations. Growing perennials means lots of color when you plant gladioli. There is something about a bare piece of ground that suddenly breaks with foliage at an amazing rate and then bursts in a splendid…
The weather is warming up here in NC and it makes me think of things to do outside. Gardening is my first choice, of course, but I also love hosting gatherings and coming up with outdoor games for them. I grew up in a family of six children and we were always playing games. When…
My daughter Jess’ favorite flower is the sunflower. I plant them in my garden each year and love to find new varieties that I have not had before. Growing sunflowers is pretty easy if you keep just a few things in mind. Plant a Sunflower to Brighten your Day I’ve written about sunflowers many times…
The Raleigh Rose Garden is a place that you should visit if you are ever in Raleigh, North Carolina. Raleigh’s little Theater has a wonderful rose garden behind it. I discovered it year’s ago when my daughter performed in a play there as a middle schooler. It has a splendid array of roses of all…
Earlier this year, I wrote about a test garden that I will be having in my back yard. I am using the garden bed to grow all sorts of things as test plants for the blog posts that I write. Some grow well there and some don’t like it at all, but everything gives me…
Sweet Williams have pretty fringed flowers that grow in a cluster on top of a long stalk. Dianthus Barbatus is a lovely variety of the dianthus species. Dianthus Barbatus – is a tender perennial. It is often treated as a Biennial with leaves the first year and flowers the second before dying off. My Dianthus Barbatus…