Posts tagged as:

Fall

Fall Leaves: Leave ‘Em and Weep

by Genevieve on December 5, 2009

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Once upon a time some newbie garden writer thought it’d be a great idea to encourage people to leave their fall leaves on the ground. Hey, it’s got all the qualities of a great article for the masses; it tells folks what they want to hear (stay in your jammies on Saturday and don’t bother with all that raking!), and it sounds vaguely earth-friendly, which generally goes over well.

The problem with this well-intended advice? [Click here to continue reading…]

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How to Prune Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Video Tutorial)

by Genevieve on November 30, 2009

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Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is a true garden classic, especially paired with ornamental grasses, lavenders and colorful sages.

It’s particularly great because during the summer when everything else is blooming, its greenish-white buds are getting bigger and bigger, creating a subtly beautiful show, then as everything else slows for the fall, ‘Autumn Joy’ bursts into bloom with a cheerful pink color that looks great with the fall colors on the other plants.

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Your Gardening Body: How to Rake and Sweep Without Strain or Pain

November 15, 2009
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Anne Asher, a movement specialist from The MOVE! Blog,  has been kind enough to answer some common questions about how professional and/or passionate gardeners can reduce the strain that comes from repetitive gardening tasks. Here’s this month’s installment:
Dear Anne,
By November, fall leaves are piling up around perennials and shrubs. I like to rake up my [...]

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Delicate Flowers: What NOT to Plant in Fall

November 7, 2009
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Recently I read an article on Sunset’s website, suggesting that we all rush out and buy those discounted perennials to plant for fall. We all know by now that fall planting is a great idea, but is fall really the best time to plant everything, even perennials?
Many perennials don’t actually live all that long (I’m [...]

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Fall Color Container Planting Idea

October 24, 2009
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A client came up with this pretty container planting idea for summer and fall.
The spiky Phormium/ Flax Grass makes a vivid centerpiece, then she used red Coleus and orange Impatiens to pick up on the Flax’s colored stripes. Last, she used some purple trailing Petunias to cool down the combination and spill over the edges.

This [...]

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Fall-Blooming Heathers for Autumn Color

October 10, 2009
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Calluna vulgaris ‘Sister Anne’
In all the time I’ve been designing gardens, I have never had anyone tell me, “please, no heathers!”. Thank goodness, because heathers are my secret weapon for extending any season’s interest.
By the end of summer many perennials have stopped blooming, but the winter bloomers and fall colors haven’t started in earnest to [...]

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How to Deadhead Mexican Bush Sage or Salvia leucantha (Video Tutorial)

September 1, 2009
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I shot this video in December, when this Salvia was at the end of its blooming season and just starting to think about going dormant, but the advice for how to deadhead and prune it is still great for summer.
Right now, many of the Mexican Bush Sages in the gardens that I maintain are just [...]

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How to Prune Your Hardy Geranium or Cranesbill (Or: Ode to ‘Rozanne’) (Video Tutorial)

December 8, 2008

I am a huge fan of Geranium ‘Rozanne’. Here’s a plant that’s gotten tons of press in the last few years (tons of press for a plant at least!), winning all kinds of plant-y awards and generally being the plant world’s Paris Hilton. Except ‘Rozanne’? She actually deserves the attention.

She blooms gorgeously from her first [...]

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Rhododendrons – Little-Known Favorites for Winter

November 30, 2008
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If you’ve been following my Fall Planting Series, you’ll know why fall is such a great time of year to plant! This is also the perfect time to see where your garden is lacking in winter interest, and to add some year-round stars to perk things up.
Rhododendrons are one of my favorite plants now, but [...]

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How to Prune Heaths and Heathers

November 24, 2008

Heathers are one of my favorite winter-interest plants. There are Ericas (Heaths), which bloom around November and December, and Callunas (Scotch Heather), which bloom in summer but often have vibrant winter foliage.
They are very low-maintenance plants, but they do need pruning once a year after they bloom. Check out this video on how to prune [...]

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