Passionate Gardeners

Non-Stop Gardening Tips & Inspiration

Plant Spot Light: Lion’s Tail for Late Summer/Fall Color

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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,

Spooky Property Damaging Japanese Knotweed Haunts Homeowners this Halloween!

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Just when you thought Halloween couldn’t get any scarier – think again! Knotweed is a homeowner’s property nightmare in many states and the world.

This spookily invasive plant is so damaging, and bad, that in the UK, there is a company specializing fully on it’s removal- including a payment plan and guaranteed 10-year warranty.

How This Midwest College Town: Bloomington, Indiana Inspires!

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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.

Bougainvillea Shrubs for Curb Appeal! (Part 2)

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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…

3 Small Trailers Great for Containers and Gardens with Spring and Summer Blooms

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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 look you want this season. This lead photo is repeated below. Though it shows blooming roses, and Lantana don’t miss the Geranium incanum,

25 Best in Plants for Part Shade and Shade!

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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, which changes throughout the day and seasons. If this is your experience, and you live in a mild winter climate, the 25 Best in Plants for Shade and Part Shade has a number of goodies for you to consider.

Winter Flowers Combine a Simple Tapestry of Color and Fragrance

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There is always an opportunity to create a vignette in the garden including a lovely winter vignette in our mild Mediterranean climate. While the winter flowering plant list is slim compared to other seasons, there are lovely ways to enjoy a hint of color during the shortest, coldest, possibly wettest days.  In this short post enjoy a few plants woven together to create a simple floor plane tapestry. Here we go, enjoy!

7 Variegated Succulents for your Garden!

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Hi there and Happy Fall to you! Hopefully, you’re still finding time to garden. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area gardening and planting is year round with mild winter temperatures making this possible. Today is October 12, 2020 and our business is off to plenty of planting especially in the next few months of Indian Summer, where particularly in SF we get some of our warmest temps. In this post I hope you enjoy seven statement succulents from the iconic Agaves to the very sweet Aeonioums. With stripped or marbled leaves variegation gives you many options in plant design,

Variegated Foliage – A Simple Way to Add Contrast in Planting Design

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As you can see from the lead photo of this large hedge of variegated buckthorn (Rhamnus a. ‘Variegata’) variegated leaves can be a useful tool to add beautiful, easy contrast to your plant design. In this short post, take a look at the “hue effect” variegated leaves play in visual contrast to different leaf color […]