Summary: Pacific coast June marks the end of planting until autumn, variety in summer annuals increase interest in the garden. Introduce color harmonies and contrasts with annuals. One of June’s big garden jobs on the West Coast is the settling in of summer seedlings, remember… drought is just around the corner. In many Pacific Coast […]

Summary: The Epiphyllum are sometimes referred to as the poor man’s orchid. Large creamy white blooms expand at night, and can be grown indoors and out. In any early gardening days the lovely Spanish iris, bulbs of which came a dime a dozen, was the poor man’s orchid. Since then the poor man has had […]

Summary: Working in the garden and outdoors has long been considered a great “stress reliever”, doing something different than our ordinary task takes our mind off the pressures of life, but powered tools make the “relaxing” so much easier. A hobby – some activity completely foreign to their daily tasks – has long been a […]

I have received many emails asking why their Peruvian lilies won’t bloom. Here is a an email about an unusual way one reader bloomed their Peruvian lily. I bought one expensive bulb four years ago so I made notes of every bit of information. For two years I planted and dug that bulb, packed it […]

Summary: Old gardens sometimes have remnants of old stumps sticking out of the ground where the “complete” tree stump removal was not a part of the finished tree removal job. Should you remove them? Question: Our garden has some old tree stumps left over from some previous trees that were cut down. Should we leave […]

Summary: Pruning trees in and old garden or landscape often times needs to be done drastically. However, drastic pruning does not mean cut with wild abandon. There are some steps to follow for the best pruning results. Question: Our new house has an “old garden” that needs pruning badly. My husband wants to chop everything […]

Summary: Edging flower beds come in many shapes and sizes, from plastic, concrete, vinyl, metal and but how about using plant material? Using plants to edge flower beds can create a much different look to the landscape. When using plants for edging flower beds often a good choice is a very dwarf evergreen. The so-called […]

As we continue our “garden Rehab Project” it is time to look at the planting of the landscape. The treatment of the main garden, which may be described as a balanced garden, with a little of everything, should be self-explanatory. It could be changed in accordance with the owner’s taste. The Terrace Tree The ornamental […]