Calibrachoa, sold as Million Bells and Superbells, is one of the most reliable flowering annuals for pots, hanging baskets, and window boxes. The 1-inch blossoms look like tiny petunias and arrive in solids, two-tones, stripes, and doubles across a near-rainbow palette, and the plants bloom from late spring until frost without deadheading. The same planning […]
Creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia), also called moneywort, is a fast-growing ground cover that behaves much better in a pot than in open garden soil. Its trailing stems, rounded leaves, and small yellow flowers spill over planter edges, and because it roots wherever a stem touches moist ground, a container keeps it exactly where you want
Boxwood shrubs, Buxus sempervirens and related species, hold a top spot in home landscapes because their dense evergreen foliage keeps a sheared shape year round. Keeping those leaves deep green depends on nitrogen, the nutrient that drives foliage color, plus a soil pH that lets roots take it up. Boxwood hedges give a property the
Fuchsias produce dozens of brightly colored, teardrop-shaped flowers on trailing stems from spring through fall, which makes them a staple of hanging baskets and shaded porches. They are among the most dependable performers in container gardening when the pot, soil, and watering routine match their needs, and the payoff is months of color in spaces
Purple heart (Tradescantia pallida), also called purple spiderwort, is a trailing vine with purple stems, silvery-purple foliage, and small violet-to-pink flowers in summer. Native to the Gulf Coast of Mexico, it grows fast, tolerates neglect, and works as a houseplant, a summer annual, or a perennial in mild zones. The plant belongs in the same
A raised garden bed turns a patch of yard into productive growing space without the back strain of ground-level gardening. The frame lifts the soil, improves drainage, and gives the gardener control over what goes into the root zone. Beds can be as humble as a frame of salvaged lumber or as finished as a
Red twig dogwood is the shrub that keeps a winter landscape from looking empty. Its bare branches turn a blazing red once the leaves fall, and the color holds through the coldest months. These fast-growing shrubs add about two feet of growth per year and earn their keep in every other season too: spring brings
Companion planting is the practice of growing different plants together for mutual benefit. Onions make excellent neighbors: their pungent foliage repels a range of pests, which gives nearby plants a better chance at a clean season. The onion’s main job in the bed is pest deterrence, and it performs that role without much fuss. In
Calendula (Calendula officinalis), known to most gardeners as pot marigold, is one of the easiest flowers to grow from seed. It behaves as a short-lived perennial in warm climates and as an annual in cooler zones, flowering six to eight weeks after sowing and then blooming for months. The daisy-like blossoms in yellow, orange, red,
Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta) anchor the late-summer border with daisy-like rays of bright yellow around dark center disks. The native wildflower grows along roadsides and in natural areas across the central United States, and in gardens it produces an abundance of nectar and pollen for bumblebees, butterflies, and moths. Most black-eyed Susans are perennials that
