The garden has always inspired my artwork, so sometimes in this blog I'll share a painting. Today it's one of my flower mandalas, painted...

There are a few plants that I simply can’t grow. Delphinium, phlox and astilbe are on that list. But maybe I should say “can’t grow yet”...

It might seem strange to say this in July, but you should be thinking about your spring garden. It’s true that you could wait until next...

Bold and summery - a combination of scarlet and gold zinnias I could have called this post "The Farmer-Florist Thinks About Color" but...

Whether you’re a new gardener planning your first garden, or an experienced gardener adding plants to an existing garden, I advise you to...

We were on vacation last week, so I didn’t post. It’s hard for the gardener to take a vacation. Plants don’t know that you need time off...

It’s my goal to visit Lotusland. I tried to go two years ago, but tickets were sold out. Last year, during Covid, it was closed to...

That’s gardening in a nutshell - work followed by enjoyment - so this will be a series of posts listing seasonal work and seasonal...

Although I was born here in California, I grew up in Arizona. The summers there are hotter than you can imagine, and many flowers simply...

In Phoenix, Arizona, where I grew up, zinnias were just about the only flower you could see blooming in July and August. Therefore, I...

I don’t much care for roses in subdued neutral colors like beige, mocha, tan, ecru, buff and sand. I know they’ve been in vogue for...

I like these end-of-month picture posts for my own records, but I hope they're also fun for my readers. If you live in zone 9, you'll...

I wish I could tell you there was one perfect rose that combines beauty, fragrance, vase life, health and vigor all in one gorgeous...

Did you know that you’ll get more blooms from your flowering annuals if you cut off the first, early buds? It sounds like a strange idea,...

Other people have fantasies about winning the lottery and sailing off to Tahiti, but me? I dream of planting an arboretum. I admit, this...

There are a few plants that I’m content to live without. This is hard for husband to believe – he thinks I want every plant I’ve ever...

The term ‘daisy’ isn’t one specific flower – to a botanist it’s almost meaningless and to a florist it only means a general form of...

Here's another of my flower mandalas - this one with a sunflower at the center. Most of the other flowers were figments of my...

There are some plants that you'll never find in my garden. With things like cyclamen and calla lilies, it's because I just can't stand...

Rose 'Pink Promise', one of the best garden roses for cutting. If you already have a garden, you probably make the occasional bouquet....