August and September are harvest months in most of North America, but the season for eating fresh from your own garden does not have to end when the first frost arrives. A wide range of vegetables tolerate cold soil, light frost, and even hard freezes, which stretches harvests from autumn well into early spring. The […]
Ficus shivereana, sometimes sold as moonshine ficus, is a hybrid rubber plant prized for its variegated foliage: green leaf centers with cream, yellow, and sometimes pink edges that shift with the light. It is a cultivar of Ficus elastica, so it shares the rubber plant’s bold structure, but it is less adaptable and less forgiving
Coconut coir, pronounced COY-er, is a byproduct of the coconut industry: the fibrous husk of the coconut’s inner shell, processed into everything from rugs and ropes to brushes and upholstery stuffing. Most gardeners meet it as coir doormats and the liners in hanging baskets, but the same material, ground into a fine, fibrous pith, has
Philodendron melanochrysum, commonly called the black-gold philodendron, is a rare vining species whose velvet leaves combine dark green with brilliant yellow veins. In its native habitat it climbs trees, using aerial roots to reach brighter light, and indoors you can recreate that climb with a moss pole. A supported plant rewards the effort with leaves
Philodendron ‘Black Cardinal’ (Philodendron erubescens ‘Black Cardinal’) is a compact, self-heading hybrid that earns its name from foliage that changes color as it matures. New leaves open burgundy red, shift to deep green, then settle into a dark purple-brown so rich it reads as black. The glossy, broad oval leaves and tidy growth habit make
Angel wing begonias earn their name from long, shimmery, asymmetrical leaves that carry polka dots, streaks, or veins of white and silver against rich green or deep purple. A single mature plant can become a whole collection without buying anything new, because cane-type begonias root readily from stem tip cuttings. The same basic routine, a
Gardeners face the same timing question every September: is it worth pulling weeds now, or should the beds wait until spring? For most yards, the answer is that fall is the best weeding window of the year. September and early October sit at the peak of the season because the weeds are still active enough
Walk through any garden center in spring and cypress mulch is hard to miss. Bags of it sit beside hardwood and pine options, often at a lower price, which makes it an easy grab for large flower beds. The material comes from shredded cypress trees, and it resists rot and insects better than many other
Philodendron micans, native to the tropical regions of Mexico and the Caribbean, is a trailing philodendron prized for velvety, heart-shaped leaves that shift from bronze to deep green as they mature. It grows quickly in hanging planters, climbs moss poles and trellises, and stays compact enough for shelves and desks. For gardeners new to the
Hypertufa is a cement-based mix that mimics tufa, a porous limestone prized for garden planters. Real tufa is expensive and heavy, while hypertufa costs a few dollars in materials and weighs a fraction as much, which is why gardeners have been casting their own for decades. The mix combines Portland cement, perlite, and peat moss,
