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Primrose and African violets are two great flowering plants for your home. If you want to bring color inside try either or both of these plants. Primrose can be planted outside and will come return each spring. I like ...more

Growing Allium In The Garden

Alliums are a member of the onion family and make a great addition to the spring and summer garden. There are many different varieties of Allium in a variety of shapes, colors and heights. As the name implies Allium ...more

Phlox divaricata, woodland phlox.

Phlox divaricata is also known as Woodland Phlox, Wild Blue Phlox, and Wild Sweet William. This collection of plants is one of my favorite spring flowers. In the wild you can often found along streams and in open ...more

Growing and Pruning Hellebore

Hellebore are a great group of plants that bloom in late winter and early spring. I love these plants and yet they do need to be tidied up a bit to show off their great blooms. Most hellebores will grow quite happily in the sh ...more

How to Grow Snowdrops

Snowdrops or Galanthus nivalis are one of the first bulbs to bloom in early spring. These bulbs can push up through the melting snow and provide a much needed boost to the winter weary. Galanthus like to have sun or pt. sun ...more

How To Grow Actaea or Cimicifuga

One of the taller and more fragrant of the perennials, this plant blooms in summer or fall depending on the variety. Its a great back of the border plant. Very fragrant white flowers appear mid summer to early autumn. Compou ...more

How To Grow Ferns

FERNS ARE A GREAT ADDITION TO ANY GARDEN. Whether you grow your ferns as perennials or annuals or houseplants there are some common care tips that I want to share. Santa Rosa Tropicals has this great piece on ferns. & ...more

Japanese Painted Fern

Japanese Painted Fern is a hardy fern that can be grown in most areas of the US. It doesn't like to dry out so be sure to give it plenty of water. In hot areas ,it needs to be grown in some shade but in cooler areas it tend ...more

Annuals That Love Sun

Annuals are a great way to add color to the garden. Some annuals love sun and others shade. Check out our list of annuals that love the sun. Be sure to water these plants as needed. Some need more water tha ...more

Annuals For Shade

Impatiens (Impatiens wallerana) are the easiest of the shade lovers. New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens x hawkeri) make them a shade garden favorite they also tolerate sun. . Rose balsam (Impatiens balsamina) is another type of imp ...more

Plants On Which You Can Walk

Sometimes you want a plant in an area that you can walk across. Grass is the obvious choice, but other plants like thyme and ajuga make great choices. Other plants like sedum, leptinella, mentha, lotus and veronica work grea ...more

Hardy Cyclamen

Cyclamen are popular in much of Europe and as an indoor plants wordwide. There are newer hardier varieties of cyclamen that can be grown outside in zones as cold as zone 5. Cyclamen are a tuber and will go dormant in the ...more

How To Grow Bergenia

Bergenias are a great perennial, semi-evergreen plants. These plants which originated in central Asia have been grown in home gardens since the early part of the nineteenth century. There are now many cultivars of this plant ...more

Growing Pansies

Pansies are one of the first annuals you can plant in the garden. Pansies can handle a freeze and therefore you can put them out in late March or early April in zones 5 and 6. Pansies come in all sorts of colors and even ...more

Bringing Annual Color To The Garden

John Backert is an expert in annual color. John was one of the speakers at New England Grows. John was responsible for bringing annuals to the Kentucky Derby for years. Listen as he shares a few tips on his favorite annuals. ...more

Growing Lamb's Ear

One of my favorite plants for the front of the border is Lamb’s Ears. Lamb's Ears is a low growing spreader with very fuzzy, pale, silvery gray-green foliage. The plant has great leaves that are soft and kids love to t ...more

Growing Asters

Asters are a fall favorite for any perennial garden. They come in a variety of colors and heights perfect for autumn. The Aster produce large clusters of delicate daisy-like flowers in white, purple, lavender, pink or red. ...more

Choosing Ornamental Grasses

Ornamental grasses are a great addition to any garden. They are easy to grow and require little maintenance. There are hundreds of varieties of grasses for the garden. Some stay low and grow just a few inches; others ca ...more

Growing Lirope

Liriope is a great low growing perennial for the front of the border. Liriope is also known as lily turf and should be planted in clumps just before the last frost spring. Lily turf likes to grow in a partially shaded par ...more

Buying Dormant Plants

Buying plants when they are dormant can save you a lot of money. Each year in late fall I head over to my local nursery to see what they have on sale. Often the plants that time of year are 50% off or even more. ...more

Native Perennials For Late Fall

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Gardening In The Shade

Shade gardening is a challenge for some because you don't have the luxury of a lot of sunshine. However, there are many plants that thrive in shade and actually do better with less direct sunlight. Here is a partial list of ...more

Growing Forget-Me-Knots

There are so few flowers that have a real blue color. Forget-me-nots are one of those blue flowers that really is blue. They love to grow in just about any soil and will seed themselves in year after year. I like to ...more

How To Choose Hosta

In the shade garden hosta are one of the most reliable and efficiant plants to use to bring consistant color and interest. There are hundreds of varieties of hosta and any list will be incomple ...more

Growing Vines In The Yard

Vines are a unique type of plant many of which are perennials. Different vines attach themselves and grow very differently from one another. When selecting a vine for your yard ask yourself these questions. 1. Do I want th ...more

How To Prune Ornamental Grass

Ornamental grasses that come back each year need to be cut to the ground in early spring to promote new growth. Here are a few simple steps. If the grasses are really big tie a belt around them using some string to get ...more

Fritillaria For Spring

Frittillaria is a great spring bulb that can be planted in the fall. It comes in a variety of colors, sizes and heights. They do get attacked by the lily beetle in some areas of the country. Fritillaria assyriac ...more

Dividing Ornamental Grasses

Dividing perennials is for the most part quite easy and benefits the health of the plant. There are just few steps you must follow to divide the grass successfully. I like to to divide the grasses in early spring before they ...more

How To Prune Autumn Clematis

There are several types of clematis. Some bloom on last years growth and these bloom in the spring. They should not be pruned until after they flower. You can prune these back as soon as they are done flowering. ...more

Bee Balm For The Garden Video

Bee Balm, Monarda is a great perennial that flowers in mid-summer for a number of weeks. It is a must in the garden and its tall size make it perfect for the middle or back of a border. The plant prefers a sunny location an ...more

Japanese Anemone Perennials

The Anemone is a perennial that comes in a variety of colors and sizes. One of the most popular is the fall blooming variety known as Japanese Anemone's. ...more

Attracting Bees with Agastache

Agasatche is on of the best perennials in the garden. Reliable, native and attracting a plethora of wild life, especially bees and butterflies it is a must have in the garden. ...more

Montauk Daisy aka Nipponanthemum nipponicum

Fall-blooming, deer-resisting, butterfly attracting, some things are worth waiting for so goes the saying and I think that this late blooming perennial falls into that category. Known as Nipponanthemum nipponicum you m ...more

Dwarf Iris For The Rock Garden

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Gardening: How To Plant Daylilies

Daylilies are one of the easiest perennials to grow. They just need average soil, plenty of sunshine and regular water and they will reward your for years to come. When planting dig the hole twice as wide and as ...more

How To Prune Daylilies

Daylilies are wonderful. There are so many varieties that are available in so many colors and wide range of height. Although they require not much care there are a few things you can do keep them healthy all year long. ...more

Growing Daylilies

For super color this time of year, you can''t beat the daylily. Over the past decade, many new varieties of daylily have become available. The best part about these new varieties is that they bloom more than once each season -- so ...more

Using Red-Veined Sorrel In The Garden

Are you looking for a splash of color all season long in the garden? If you are a regular reader of http://www.GrowingWisdom.com you know that I am a big fan of leaf color. Several years ago I discovered red-ve ...more

Deer Resistant Hellebores

Hellebores, the name even sounds different. These perennial plants have been popular in some parts of the world for centuries. During the past decade or so they have gained popularity in the United States. Helleb ...more

Early Flowers: Adonis In The Garden

No matter what the time of year a true gardener is always thinking ahead. We might have blooms in the moment, but we anticipate the next cycle of flowers. If you want to extend the blooming season you can start early b ...more

How To Support Peonies

I love to grow peonies. However, they do tend to flop over and this can ruin the spectacular blooms we wait for all year long. Peony cages are a great way to prevent the flop and keep the blooms looking great for a few ...more

How To Properly Cut Back Heuchera

Although this video is about Heuchera you can apply this knowledge to many other kinds of perennials as well. Perennials are those plants which return year after year. In many cases perennials get better with age. So ...more

Properly Dividing Hosta

Dividing Perennials is a great way to keep plants healthy and make more room for other plants. You can also get two, three or even 4 plants for the price of one. When you divide is important. The S below me ...more

How To Grow Eranthis or Winter Aconite

Looking for early spring color? There is a great tuber/corm that will spread year after year and dazzle you with warm rich yellow color early in spring. Winter aconites or Eranthis appear almost overnight, provi ...more

Adding Fall Crocus To The Garden

Fall crocus are indeed fall-blooming species of this popular spring-blooming bulb (a corm actually). The fall blooming species include: C. kotschyanus, C. sativus, C. ochroleucus, and C. niveus In general, they are more tender th ...more

Adding Echinachea To The Perennial Garden

There are some varieties of flowers that are ubiquitous in the garden and for good reason. Echinacea is one such plant. First, if you are wondering, this is the same plant from which the Echinacea you get at your local ...more

Time-Saving Tips for Planting Bulbs

How long do you think it would take to plant a mix of 1,200 spring bulbs with two people? If you guessed days, you would be wrong. If you organize bulbs into groups, you can plant this many bulbs in two hours with two pe ...more

One Of The Best Vines You Can Grow

One of the best climbers for the garden is the climbing hydrangea. I love this plant. The leaves are sharp and crisp and have a wonderful deep dark green color. Insects are rarely a problem and the creamy whole flow ...more

Growing One of the More Unusual Perennials: The Pitcher Plant

One of the most unusual types of perennials you can grow in a garden is the pitcher plant. These plants can be grown most easily in zones 6 through 8, but will adapt to colder zones if protected with a mulch in the winter.&nb ...more

Growing Hardy Chrysanthemums

Chrysanthemums -- or mums, as they are often called -- are a great addition to any garden. However, before you add these beauties to your garden, you need to know what you're getting. Chrysanthemums can be grouped in ...more

Learning About Deadheading: Part Two

In this video, we continue to explore some of the nuances of deadheading perennials. If you haven't seen Part One, click here. ...more

Learning About Deadheading Perennials and Other Flowering Plants

Sometimes we have so much to show you that we need a second video to cover all the information. Deadheading is a topic like that, because of the great variety in the way plants bud and grow. Plants flower to produce seeds and mo ...more

Sweetening the Garden with Scented Perennials

In another video we looked at how woody plants can add a fragrant dimension to the garden. Click here to see that video. In this video, we concentrate on how perennials and their scent can add a wonderful dimension to the ya ...more

Growing Clematis

There are not many flowering vines available to gardeners whose flowers are more spectacular then the clematis. Members of the Ranunculaceae family, most clematis are climbers. There are two exceptions worth noting they ...more

Caring for Repeat Bloomers

This week I check out four plants that have the ability to bloom multiple times throughout the growing season. We call these ‘repeat bloomers’ or ‘season extenders’ because they give us color for month ...more

How To Create The Perfect Container Using Annuals

Do you have a favorite container? Do you have favorite annuals? Want to learn how to put these two aspects of the garden together? This video shows you some interesting color schemes and identifies some plants you c ...more

How To Choose The Right Annual

Although I have a lot of perennials in my yard, there are places I love to put annuals. Annuals are plants that last only one season. They're not frost-hardy. You can use house plants as annuals and bring them insid ...more

Small Leafed Rhododendrons-Big Early Color

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How About Some Early Spring Bloomers?

Today I am showing you three of my favorite early spring bloomers. These plants are good to extend the season by starting early. We will start with the most shade tolerant the Hellebores. HELLEBORES Over ...more

Cleaning Up The Garden

Cleaning up the perennial garden is the not most glamorous of spring activities. What I do enjoy about it however is seeing all the tiny plants just starting to break ground. In some parts of the garden c ...more

The Unique Ornamental Grasses

By R. Wayne Mezitt I recall a day in the mid-1980s when Gary Koller from the Arnold Arboretum first gave me a clump of Maiden Grass (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’) and rightfully predicted that these grass ...more

Monkshood:Tall Straight and Late

After summer is done it becomes increasingly difficult for many gardeners to have color in their yard. However, the reality is that there is a whole host of plants that bloom after Labor Day. Monkshoods is such a pla ...more

Bugbane: It's Now Actaea, But Still Wonderful

Recently the latin name of a plant I love changed. It use to be called Cimicifuga but the plant folks that be changed the name to Actaea to have it in with its generic counterparts. No matter, I still ...more

Yes We Have Some Bananas: Even In The Cold

You might think a person is a bit nuts growing a banana tree in New England, outside, but it can be done. There is a vartiety of banana called the Musa Basjoo and its quite hardy. Now before you get your cereal ready ...more

Big Bold Leaves:Elephant Ears

Every year in the garden I add some elephant ear bulbs, then I wait. I wait because over the summer the leaves will grow huge. The bulbs are actually pretty big themselves. You can start them inside and then mo ...more

The Hardy Chrysanthemum: October's Best Flowers

As fall presses on I look for certain perennials to come into their full glory just before the garden shuts down for winter. One of these is the hardy chrysanthemum. There are lots of varieties of this plant ...more

The Castor Bean Plant:Great Foliage

Every year I add some castor bean plants to my yard. These plants add a bit of the tropics to sunny areas of my garden. The leaves are large and the plants can grow up to 15 feet tall in a single season if yo ...more

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Annuals & Perennials

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