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Table of Contents It happens to all of us gardeners… We’re out in the garden: pruning, hoeing, clipping, thinning…and we forget to pick up a tool. This happened to me recently with my beloved Felco F-2 Hand Pruners, arguably some of the best pruners you’ll ever buy. They’ll last you a lifetime…IF you take care of them. Mine got all rusted and weren’t gliding as smoothly as they once did. They also weren’t cutting very well, especially when I tackled an overgrown bougainvillea....

Coreopsis tripteris, or tall coreopsis is a flowering species of perennial herb that generally grows up to 6′ feet in height. With smooth-edged foliage and lovely yellow flowers, this plant will make a beautiful addition to your garden. You can expect a spectacular show of bright flowers from early spring to late fall. While it is a low maintenance plant perfect as a xeriscape plant, you must know how to care for it to make sure it stays happy and healthy in your garden....

Many of us are accustomed to cutting back our ornamental grasses in late winter to get rid of dead leaves and promote fresh, attractive growth. You might wonder if it’s also necessary to cut back grassy irises such as bicolor (Dietes bicolor) or African (D. vegeta) — plants that also sport the long, slender leaves common to grasses. We’ll look at the taxonomy of these plants, and then get down to brass tacks about whether you should be cutting them back....

Helleborus foetidus is a flowering plant that will make a beautiful addition to your landscape. It can be grown in large containers, but does best in a dedicated, permanent outdoor garden bed. The dark green, palmate leaves with a bluish tint create a showy and striking contrast against its bell-shaped, greenish-white flowers. This plant is popular among gardeners. Unlike most other perennial plants, it’s evergreen through the winter, And it can handle cold climates like a champ, making it a perfect pick for northern climates....

Microgreens are a simple way to add extra nutrients and interest to your food. They add a delightful crunch and unique flavor. If you’re looking for something different to liven up your lunch, try dill microgreens. They’re zesty, have the dill flavor that’s reminiscent of pickles, and taste great with a variety of foods. Table of Contents Dill microgreens can benefit your health, too. They contain vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, amino acids, iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, and many more other nutrients that we probably don’t eat enough of....

If you’re reading this post, you should have already read the microgreens introduction, gathered your materials, and planted your microgreen seeds. If you haven’t, get on it! Back? Alright, let’s get started. Microgreens don’t require a lot of daily care to get them to harvest, but there ARE a few things to keep track of as your seeds grow into glorious, delicious greens. Making sure you’re on top of your microgreens maintenance will go a long way towards ensuring a beautiful harvest....

Also called pak choi or horse’s ear, and regarded as a variety of Chinese cabbage as well, this veggie grows vibrant, rounded leaves borne on white or light green stems. In Cantonese, the words “pak choi” translate to “white vegetable.” Bok choy is a member of one of my favorite vegetable families, the brassica family. It calls three of the most popular vegetables its own: broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower. Oh, and don’t forget cabbage!...

Grow a garlic crop, and you’ll have a garlic harvest. Then it’s time to preserve the flavor and shelf life by curing garlic bulbs. There’s nothing better than freshly harvested garlic, but cured garlic cloves have all the delicious flavor that you want out of your vegetable garden. Table of Contents There are multiple ways to cure garlic, each with its benefits. How you cure could determine how you store garlic....

1. Garden center Take her for a surprise visit to a garden center, buy her favorite plants, it’s a tremendous idea. She’ll love this. 2. Seed Packets Gifting seed packets is a smart idea. Buy easy to grow annual flowers’ seeds full of colors. 3. Gardening book If your mom loves to read books then give her a gardening book. Read this list of best gardening books on Goodreads. 4. Bonsai Tree A bonsai tree represents a living symbol of love and care....

Rustic (or romantic) structures such as arbors are traditional mainstays, as well as the occasional found object weaved in here and there. There’s nothing more appealing than the building and landscape designs of yesteryear, especially when this applies to an old-fashioned cottage garden. Once implemented solely for its usefulness, with edible plants as the primary ingredient, today’s version has remained much the same with exception to the fact that most gardeners nowadays seem to use their growing spaces more for their cheerful, relaxing qualities than their usefulness in the kitchen....

Jujube tree is native to the Indian Subcontinent and China. The tree also does well in the climates of Washington State, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Growing jujube trees will prize you with tasty fruits that are more like dates. If you too, want to enjoy them, continue reading to learn more about How to Grow a Jujube Tree. Botanical Name: Ziziphus Common Names: Cottony Jujube, Desert Apple, Azufaifo Indian Cherry, Datte Chinoise Indian Date, Indian Jujube, Indian Plum, Jujuba, Malay Jujubeberra (Pashto), Badari, Ber, Beri, Filzblattrige Jujube, Chinese Apple, Hong Tsao, Sanebuto-natsume, Cherumali, Dadara, Elandai, Perita Haitiana, Coolie Plum...

Tomatoes are the quintessential garden crop…but they can also be one of the most confusing! With determinate and indeterminate varieties, there’s no absolute right formula for tomato plant spacing. Table of Contents Your selection of tomato variety along with your garden soil, light, and growing conditions all give clues to answer the question, “How far apart do you plant tomatoes?” Good Products for Maximizing Tomato Spacing: Vertex Tomato CageTomato Support ClipsElastic Cord (for vertical trellising) Listen to this post on the Epic Gardening Podcast...

In our guide to growing Christmas cactus, we discuss all you need to know to cultivate this tropical epiphyte indoors. Christmas cactus, Schlumbergera spp., is an umbrella term for several species and cultivated varieties of South American epiphytes that cling to trees and rocks for support in the wild, drawing sustenance from rainwater and bits of organic matter in their immediate environment. It is a popular indoor houseplant because of the profusion of blooms that appear between Thanksgiving and Christmas, depending upon the variety....

Table of Contents So you’re ready to get started in hydroponics and you’re about to start some seeds… But you have no idea where to get started?​ You’re not alone — when I first started gardening, I was a soil gardener. Starting seeds for hydroponics systems was unknown to me until I started to build deep water culture and ebb and flow systems. Once I built those, I had to learn how to start seeds hydroponically....

Table of Contents Imagine that it’s your best friend’s birthday. What, oh, what do you give to that special person that has been with you through thick and thin? The one that shares with you all those ridiculous inside jokes know one else understands? The one that remembers your most embarrassing moments and brings them up at least once a year? The one that picks you up when you fall down?...

The tree produces clusters of 1-inch delicate flowers that produce a sweet, far-traveling fragrance. The flowers give way to round or pear-shaped yellow-orange fruits that are one to two inches long. Eriobotrya japonica As prized for its beauty as it is for its tasty offerings, loquat is unusual in that it flowers in the fall and produces fruit in late winter to early spring. Native to China, carefully cultivated in Japan for a thousand years or more, and beloved in the American South, Eriobotrya japonica is an evergreen tree that can grow to 25 feet tall and spread 15 to 20 wide....

Whatever the reason, transplanting blueberries is easy to do. As an easy to grow perennial that can produce reliable crops of sweet and juicy fruits each year, it’s no wonder the blueberry is a popular choice for home gardeners. Occasionally, these relatively low maintenance shrubs may benefit from being relocated. Perhaps you’ve propagated new bushes. Or they have outgrown their space or are not thriving in their current location. Or maybe you’re moving and don’t want to leave those well cared for bushes behind!...

Rosemary is one of the most universal herbs to grow in your garden. It is a drought-tolerant, low maintenance perennial shrub that can be harvested for a variety of uses and it looks great as an ornamental landscape plant. It produces lovely flowers that come in white, pink, purple, or blue and attracts lots of pollinators. The foliage of this plant has a pleasant scent and it’s a staple herb for culinary use....

A Feast for the Eyes Succulents come in an extensive variety of textures, colors, shapes, and sizes. The succulent is one of nature’s most efficient plants, and one of the easiest to propagate. It’s a type of “xerophyte,” a shallow-rooted wonder that thrives in dry climates and stores water in fat, fleshy leaves and stems. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....

Chives look similar to green onions and taste between mild onion and garlic. Its purple to mauve flowers set the difference. Some people call it “blue jeans herb” as it can go with anything. Also Read: 12 Versatile Vegetables & Herbs for Containers Even if you live in an apartment, you can have this herb as growing chives in pots is super easy. You can plant chives indoors as well as it doesn’t mind living in partial sun....