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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.
With an amazing array of shapes and sizes, textures and blooms – Cacti and succulents really are the biggest and most widespread of possibilities in houseplants and outdoor wonders. So let’s dive into a short look at the various types of Cacti and Succulents that we can find in most garden centers.
It is unusual to find such a small tree surrounded by myth, legend and lore, but the Hawthorn has been around long enough to have earned many descriptions. It is edible, it is medicinal, and it is mentioned in literature that was written hundreds of years ago.
Dazzling flowers, graceful foliage, and dramatic form turn hanging pots into showpieces. If you want something more than the usual selection available in the garden centers, think about designing your own unique hanging gardens.
While the genus Alocasia holds some of the largest Big Ear type aroids, several other genera are also known by many as "elephant ears". Here I'll showcase Colocasia and Xanthosoma and help dispel some of the confusion generated by naming plants from three completely different genera as "elephant ears". . .
On Saturdays, the Writer's Group would like to say thanks by presenting a "You Supply The Caption" photo. A gardening related photo will be presented, and you the Readers will provide humorous captions. The wit available on Dave's is some of the best around, so please join in the fun! This feature is not a "for compensation" article - just our way of saying Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy...now let's hear some funny stuff!
Let's take a walk through Jessica Hagans' garden on here family's mini farm. While we are there, she'll tell us what she has learned in her first year of vegetable gardening. Grab your rain hat, it's misting out there!
I am a firm believer in the fact that the good Lord has made every creature on this earth for a purpose. He has also demanded of us to care for each one and protect them as we can. I do not think that it is wrong to keep a wild animal as a pet as long as you have the proper licenses and offer them the best possible environment to live in. Abide by the laws of the land and what-not.
Whether you call it Devil's Tongue, Indian Fig or simply Prickly Pear, it is one plant that doesn't get enough recognition for what it brings to the creatures in the wild. It's not altogether evil...
Is your entryway humdrum, woebegone or simply bland? Is your front door the focal point of your home or does it blend into the facade of your home like a wallflower? There are many ways to add curb appeal to a home, but for those of us who love the flower garden there is nothing better than adding a new flower garden for that special blossoming touch. Read on and discover a recipe to spice up that bland entryway by creating a pleasant dooryard garden.
Yeah, I'm cheap. What can I say? When I read about this cool idea of side planting in special pots, I just knew I was going to have to have me one of these incredible planters. I received some wonderful coleus cuttings in the mail from a special Dave's Garden friend and I needed to plant them soon. Let me show you how I created my very own side planter from things I had around the house.
Had I known when I was younger, that gardening is so rewarding and gratifying, I may have saved myself taking the long walk to go such a short distance. Life is like gardening in that we all complete a circle of life. We do what we can while we are here and when we are gone, hopefully we left something worthwhile behind. Sometimes we know exactly the direction we should go and sometimes the path is not so clear. In the end, I believe we end up exactly where we should be.
"This will grow in full sun", is a phrase most gardeners have heard. What you may not have heard is that your "full sun" may not be the same as my "full sun". In fact, the difference may be so great as to cause you to lose your plant altogether, or have more success with it than I have! The same applies to how moist or dry a plant likes to be. Read on to find out why. . .
Now here's your chance to make those beautiful pots specialty stores charge out the you know what for. Beautiful yet oh so simple to make yourself. Nearly FREE too!
Ever since I have been interested in plants the weird things called Medusoid Euphorbias have fascinated me. The following brief article is an introduction to this wonderfully ornamental category of caudiciform succulents.
The best part of living is being able to help one another and show kindness and compassion at every opportunity. One of the best parts of gardening is sharing knowledge, ideas and your bounty with others. Here’s a story of how kindness and sharing helped another.
This is, perhaps, the most diverse group of "Big Ears". Most EE fanciers are familiar with at least one of these, and may have one or more in their collections or gardens. Alocasia 'Borneo Giant', a notable member of the group, is among the largest of the large Alocasia species. Read on for a real "Earful". . .
For today we will pay a short visit to a special botanical family which hosts plants used daily as food, condiment or mild drugs as well as plants which contain some of the most effective poisons amongst green kingdom but also a very important number of species used as ornamentals either in the tropics or temperate areas, therefore a prominent family but to be met with circumspection!
On Saturdays, the Writer's Group would like to say thanks by presenting a "You Supply The Caption" photo. A gardening related photo will be presented, and you the Readers will provide humorous captions. The wit available on Dave's is some of the best around, so please join in the fun! This feature is not a "for compensation" article - just our way of saying Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy...now let's hear some funny stuff!
Spring has been frustratingly cool and wet this year for most of the Mid Atlantic region, but happily there was warm sun on May 17th, 2008. That was the day a bunch of Dave’s Garden Mid-Atlantic Forum members met to tour Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square Pennsylvania. A jovial gang of green thumbs and friends discovered that Longwood Gardens has something to appeal to any gardener. Read here for an overview and plan your own visit. Can't get to Pennsylvania? Take this virtual tour and then use the Go Gardening database to find a special garden near you.
With a name like PawPaw, the fruit must have something incredible going for it. It took me awhile to try the fruit of the PawPaw tree, it's blooms have a nasty smell, and the fruit is nothing to look at. But after that first bite, ahhhhhhhh, the flavor.
When the winds stop howling and you can venture outside, what will you see? Will your trees and plants still be there, a bit tattered but none the worse for wear, or will you find utter chaos and unrecognizable twisted remains? Here I'll share about landscape choices you can make so when you go outside after the storm, most of what you clean up will be from other people's landscapes, not yours!
Growing up in south Florida, we often ate dinner at Chinese restaurants where we would sometimes be served a dessert that was a white, almost gelatinous blob called a Lychee, presented in a clear syrup. I was not impressed. Then as a young adult I was invited to dinner with a couple who served fresh lychees from their own trees and I was hooked!
Have you ever, ever, ever in your long legged life, seen a long legged Shoe Tree and his long legged wife? Have you seen a Shoe Tree? What do you think about Shoe Trees? What feeling does a Shoe Tree give you?
I was eleven years old before I scared Aunt Bett to death. Even my asphidity bag was no help when I stumbled upon something in the mountains that I was never supposed to even know about. But all's well that ends well, and not only did I learn a cure, but boy did I ever learn a lesson!
There are many species of Oxalis and some are even ones I have acquired on purpose- those are ones I don't consider 'weeds' and of course they are also the ones that die on me. But Oxalis stricta, aka Common Yellow Woodsorrel, Lemon Clover, Yellow Oxalis etc., is difficult to kill and nearly impossible to eradicate. It shows up anywhere and everywhere as if by spontaneous generation. It is one of the most annoying and difficult weeds to control in a cactus and succulent collection (and probably any plant collection for that matter). The article offers few solutions, but at least discusses some of ones options including personal experiences and failures.
The archetypal Alocasia odora is among the hardiest of the Big Ears. Of course, when discussing tropical greenery, "hardy" is a relative term. Here I mean that a frost or light freeze will not kill the plant, and that this species can survive in subtropical climates without extraordinary protection. It is in working with this group, though, that I've learned that the lines between species can be blurrier than one might imagine. . .
First, the good news--as bold and buzzy as they seem, those big black bees that challenge you will not hurt you! Despite the nuisance of buzzing you or producing a little sawdust here and there, Carpenter Bees are important pollinators of trees and flowers.
Gingers are a well-known genus amongst exotic plant lovers and they certainly are great plants either as individuals with stunning flowers or as mass planting to give a ‘junglish’ touch to any garden. As I did for a recent article on members of the Convolvulaceae family I will introduce some gingers introduced on Reunion.
There is something magical about butterflies. I have yet to meet a person in the garden that does not smile when one glides by, landing on the nearest bloom. Butterflies are just one more living thing in the garden that brings happiness to young and old alike. For the older of us, they bring back sweet childhood memories. For the youngest of us, they encourage imagination and launch them into a ballet dance through the garden. To me, butterflies represent youth, memories and happiness. For this reason, I'd like to create a place they can visit and grow from one generation to the next.
Do you love Japanese maples but don't have the space? Why not try growing them in conatiners! There are many dwarf to semi-dwarf cultivars that lend themselves beautifully to growing in pots. Nothing looks more elegant than a potted Japanese maple in a secluded courtyard or enclosed deck or just about anywhere! Read on to learn how to grow them and which selection work best.
On Saturdays, the Writer's Group would like to say thanks by presenting a "You Supply The Caption" photo. A gardening related photo will be presented, and you the Readers will provide humorous captions. The wit available on Dave's is some of the best around, so please join in the fun! This feature is not a "for compensation" article - just our way of saying Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy...now let's hear some funny stuff!
If you're lost for garden design ideas, don't fret… a public garden can help save the day! Take a day trip to a local display garden to see new plants and design options you might never have though about using.
For many people, the greatest drawback to growing fruit in their garden is the necessity to spray, spray, spray in order to keep pests from spoiling the fruit. One solution is bagging the fruit instead.
You just bought a beautiful tree in a pot, and you have the perfect spot for it in your yard. What’s the best way to plant it? This step by step photo tutorial answers some common questions about planting trees.
Have you ever considered how your plants and trees can actually protect your home from damage in severe storms? Rather than being a danger to your home, your landscaping can help protect your home, taking the brunt of the storm on your behalf. Read on to see how. . .
I have always loved blue flowers. Spiderwort was my favorite until I stumbled upon a clearing in the mountains one day and discovered the beauty of Plumbago. I loved it for its sky blue color, but Aunt Bett had other ideas.
