Non-Stop Gardening Tips & Inspiration
If you’re looking for some color this spring, summer and fall perennials are a good bang for your buck. For a definition refresher, a perennial is:
A plant that survives from year to year in a temperate climate but dies back just above or below the ground at the onset of the dormant season. ~Source: Understanding Perennials by William Cullina
Leonotus leonurus ‘ White’ – White Lion’s Tail
In this short post let’s have a look at Leonotus leonurus (Lion’s Tail) a ‘must have’ plant for the dry Mediterranean garden. This evergreen perennial does very well in mild winter climates where fast draining soils set-up for year round flowering. Though peak flowering is summer to fall – if you prune mildly, leaving your shears mainly to dead-heading, Lion’s Tail will surprise you some blooms here and there throughout the year. [Read more]
Just when you thought Halloween 🎃 couldn’t get any scarier – think again! Japanese knotweed is a homeowner’s property nightmare in many states and countries.
This spookily invasive plant is so damaging, and bad, that in the UK, there is a company, Knotweed Services UK (Ltd), specializing fully on it’s removal, including a payment plan and guaranteed 10-year warranty. [Read more]
Decades after graduation, it was time for Judy and me to revisit my college, Indiana University, in Bloomington, Indiana for a few weeks visit this summer 2022. We had visited for a week, in February of 2022, and were both so enamored, we wanted to return. This Midwestern college town delivers in the ways that college towns do.
With a population of 80,000, half of which are college students, the town is based around the university, founded in 1820.
If you live in a climate where Bougainvillea will grow to be a flowering skyscraper vine, don’t hesitate to consider another form: SHRUB BOUGAINVILLEA.
If you’re not sure what that looks like, let me introduce you to a beautiful Berkeley, California garden which delivers 100% curb appeal! Using Bougainvillea in a variety of ways in your garden can reap electrifying rewards as you will see in this post… [Read more]
Bougainvillea is considered to be one of the most beautiful flowering vines of all! Pretty much every home owner asks about the possibility of growing one. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, these tropical thorny plants, native to South America, do great, year round, especially if planted in a sunny, warm spot like a south or west facing wall. Keep them consistently watered until they’re fully established, and you could be looking at a drought tolerant bloom machine for years to come! Want to see how Bougainvillea vines do 12 months of the year? If so, enjoy the Bougainvillea bloom calendar photos below. [Read more]
Looking for some flowering trailers for hanging baskets, containers or the garden? It's hard to get tired of all the blooms! Take a look a these 3 below. This is a short post but timely as it's a perfect time to get shopping and planting to get the … [Read more]
One of the best ways to get privacy from your neighbors, or to screen unwanted views is to plant a hedge. But which shrubs make the best screens? If you have a small garden, I'd like to steer you in a direction that cuts down your overwhelm: Oh no, … [Read more]
It's early spring (April 2nd) and one of the beautiful flowering trees in the garden now is Cercis Occidentalis (aka: California redbud or Western redbud). This California native tree, and also a native to South Western states like Utah and Arizona … [Read more]
Some of the most beautiful gardens are shade gardens, or gardens that receive dappled light filtered through the canopy of trees. Urban gardens, like San Francisco home gardens are often surrounded by homes and buildings, creating shadows, and shade, … [Read more]