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Welcome to our library of articles, where you can search and browse over 2,000 articles written by our own team of garden writers. Interested in becoming a Dave's Garden writer? Submit an article to apply.
Invasives are here to stay; that much is painfully obvious. For years we've heard about acres of wild lands lost to invasives, about the inevitable occupation of native "niches' by foreign species. What does the current research say? You may be surprised by these news items related to invasive plant species.
Every year, I start searching my flower beds in February and March for signs of life. Something inside me rejoices to see the green foliage tips pressing upward through the soil, promising that warmer temperatures are just around the corner. At the same time, I feel a certainly motherly anguish: will nature play a nasty trick on me and send a late freeze or a freak blizzard? If so, how will my bulbs survive?
Choosing a tree for the landscape seems like a game of chance for many people. We see a tree that we think is beautiful, and we become single-minded in our pursuit of it. Sometimes we forget to find out all we can about plants before adding them to our landscapes—often with less than pleasing results.
Gardeners have a keen sense of humor and we know that you'll enjoy adding your family-friendly quote or description to the image. We'll supply the picture and everyone can post their funniest title. We can't wait to see what you come up with!
It’s a question that unsuspecting visitors to the Southern U.S. will invariably ask: what are those weird mounds of dirt everywhere? Those, my friend, are fire ant hills…so watch where you step.
Gardening is both art and science, with some luck and skill thrown in for good measure. A big part of what attracts people to Dave's Garden has always been our forums, where gardeners ask and answer questions for one another. Occasionally we come across a question that we find particularly interesting or intriguing. We hope you find these questions (and answers, penned by our admins and writers) helpful as you grow your gardening knowledge!
When one gets excited about plants*, its easy to be impulsive. Unfortunately, if you don't think twice before planting certain specimens, you may have second thoughts afterward. Leatherleaf mahonia (Mahonia bealei), also known as Beale's barberry, is a second thought kind of plant.
Euonymus alatus is used frequently by landscapers and homeowners in areas with cold or cool winters for its attractive fiery red fall color. However, here are six reasons you should reconsider before purchasing or planting this invasive plant.
Fall is an excellent time to assess the landscape for those sometimes attractive invasive species that surreptitiously get into our gardens. When most other plants are fading, drooping, and basically dying, these hardy plants become quite visible.
Have you ever eaten from the “Lipstick Tree?” Chances are, you have. If you see E160b on a food label, that means you are eating a red dye made from seed coat of annatto (the seeds of the achiote, or lipstick tree). It is used in prepared foods, and to make cheese orange. It is also commonly used to dye margarine and butter yellow.* But why is achiote known as the lipstick tree? And how can you use the seeds in your own cooking?
The Wandering Jew plant is hard to miss. It stands out in containers and flower beds alike. There are actually several plants known by this common name.
I really hate to make mistakes that last for decades and simply cannot be corrected. I have made a few in my lifetime, and the one that I am going to relate to you might never be resolved. I guess I will just have to live with it.
Amiable Spouse finally agreed to cut down the variegated Chinese privet that was growing in the front yard. I pruned it back countless times and was always careful to cut out the portions that had reverted to solid green. Still, he rather liked it, but he acquiesced after I explained the problem and showed him evidence of reversion to solid green in several places in our neighborhood.
Years ago, in an excess of enthusiasm over experience, I built a small patio enclosing a very small rectangular pond. My plans were modest. I wanted to put in some kind of ornamental fountain, a few goldfish too fancy to feed to the garter snake, a water lily, and some kind of tall plant for contrast - a cattail or an iris, like the yellow flag, Iris pseudacorus. I also thought it would be nice to plant more of the iris along the border.
Although we all welcome the arrival of spring, the new season can bring new sneezin' as well--and not just from allergies! Change stresses our bodies, making us more vulnerable to viruses, especially if we try to hurry our winter-sluggish bags of bones into sudden gardening activity. That's when the herbs called adaptogens reportedly come in handy.
Leprechaun, leprechaun, fly across the sea And fetch an emerald shamrock for you and me. Do not bring a nettle or a thistle for a joke, But bring an Irish shamrock, for we are Irish folk. And you and I, my leprechaun, will wear the shamrock gay, And match it with an Irish smile upon St. Patrick's Day!
Gardeners have a keen sense of humor and we know that you'll enjoy adding your family-friendly quote or description to the image. We'll supply the picture and everyone can post their funniest title. We can't wait to see what you come up with!
Miniature roses are naturally dwarf roses that grow 18 to 24 inches in height and micro-miniatures range from 8 to 18 inches in height. Miniature roses will jazz up any garden space and enhance any garden design. Not much is known on the horticulture history of miniature roses, a true mystery.
Compost is 'Black Gold' to gardeners and we are always on the hunt for easier and faster ways to break down our kitchen scraps and outdoor trimmings. The Toter Composter is a new tool on the market that gives us a different twist on an old process. The company graciously sent me a unit to use and review, so I'm sharing my experiences in a series of three articles.
Anyone who views up close a mass of coral ardisia would naturally want it for their landscape, for it is very attractive. Sometimes called coral berry, spice berry, hen’s eyes and other descriptive names, this small upright shrub is a trickster of the meanest sort. It is a prime example of why gardeners should learn about the plants they invite into their gardens.
My husband quotes his Irish mother as saying "there are two kinds of people: those who are Irish, and those who wish they were." Ireland, a country of illuminated manuscripts, Latin and Greek scholars, Celts, kings, amazing natural beauty and remarkable literature, was all but toppled by the lowly potato in the 19th century.
Drive outside of any coastal California city. Go past the bigger suburbs and farms and head for the foothills or low mountain ranges. There you will find ranch land and park land carpeted in grass. They are green in winter and spring, yellow in the summer, and grayish in the fall. The cycle continues year after year. It seems so timeless, but take a closer look. The vast majority of plants turn out to be grasses and mustards native to the Mediterranean and Middle East. This is now an altered ecosystem. What did it originally look like and can it be taken back to that state?
Dill is a favorite food of the black swallowtail butterfly. So, when you plant dill, it is a good idea to add a few extra plants for the caterpillars to snack on. But the plants can bounce back after the caterpillars make their chrysalises, or the caterpillars may not show up in your yard at all. This can leave you with a lot of dill when the plants get ready to bolt and go to seed, or with a large number of volunteer sprouts the next spring. It also leaves you with the question: What to do with all that . . . dill?
Virginia creeper is a plant that generates profoundly different opinions among gardeners. Some call it desirable. Some call it invasive, while others mistakenly call it poison ivy.
Invasive species are a big problem around the world and what to do about them is a controversial topic. So I thought I would skirt most of the controversy and talk about the invasive species I see from my doorstep.
Writing about broom is like opening a hornet's nest. It is well liked in the east, and very much disliked in the west. But it has an interesting history, and therein lies this story.
Several years ago, I commuted from Philadelphia to Newark by train. The train often crawled along at 2 mph or sat motionless. I had ample opportunity to admire the plants tough enough to grow in the blighted landscape alongside the rails. Some plants sprouted through the roofs of abandoned factories. One particularly attractive plant caught my eye; a small tree with feathery leaves and puffy pink flowers.
Gardeners have a keen sense of humor and we know that you'll enjoy adding your family-friendly quote or description to the image. We'll supply the picture and everyone can post their funniest title. We can't wait to see what you come up with!
In awareness of National Invasive Species Week earlier this month, I thought I would discuss some species I have personal experience with that most don't normally think of as invasive, but certainly are in my garden.
The week of March 3-8 has been designated National Invasive Species Week in the US. The object is to educate the public about potentially harmful organisms and here at Dave’s Garden we’re doing our part. This is our third annual Invasive Species Photo Contest and we invite you to join us!
Creating your own plumeria collection can be fun and exciting! You can start plumerias from seeds, cuttings, and grafts, and you can buy plumerias as established trees, but you don't have to spend a lot of money to have a lovely collection.
Although it's March, I'm already thinking about Christmas. Are you asking why? Well, because I need to prune my poinsettias and, as you know, they are a symbol of Christmas. Now is the right time to get my poinsettias started for next Christmas, so they can have enough time to grow bushy and beautiful until the colored bracts will appear and make them the stars of Christmas.
The greys and browns of winter seem to continue on forever. I, wondering if spring will ever show her face again, turn in joy and gaze upon the promise of tomorrow: the bright golden bells of Forsythia play the Springtime song.
Most people enjoy fresh cut flowers in their homes. They know, however, that once a flower is cut its lifespan is shortened. Several techniques will help keep cut flowers fresh and pretty for as long as possible. Below are some frequently asked questions and answers that will help you get the most out of your cut flowers.
Lady, Corky and her son Lucky, another Lucky, Lill, Mitzi, Rags, another Lill, Molly, Sidney, Honey, Sadie, May, Ned, Tim, another Mitzi: a litany of dogs that have dashed through my life. Pepper, Polly, Smudge, Suzy: pups that barely put in an appearance before they were gone. Hunting dogs and herding dogs, farm dogs all, allowing us to work with them.
Potatoes and peppers would seem to be strange bedfellows in the vegetable garden. Surprise! They're actually kissing cousins. Along with tomatoes and eggplants, they are the vegetable representatives of the family Solanaceae, the nightshades. Understand the special needs and attributes of the nightshade family when planning and tending your garden.
