I WAS CRUISING RIGHT ALONG, feeling okay about myself, when I came across a list of the Seven Deadly Sins. I really wish that hadn’t happened. Suddenly, I’m concerned that gardening has gotten me into big trouble. I think I can skate on a few. Glutto

aye-dee-AN-tum: From Greek adiantos, unwetted ah-LEW-tee-kum: Of the Aleutian Islands peh-DAY-tum: From Latin, like a bird’s foot ah-GAH-vey: From Greek agauos, noble am-SO-nee-uh: For John Amdon, colonial physician and botanist hew-BRICK-tee-eye: Fo

FROM THE MOMENT I returned home a bit earlier than usual from Florida in early March of 2024, I knew southern New England had escaped a seriously cold winter. My joyful snowdrops (Galanthus) were well developed and would be in decline several weeks e

Imagine biting into a sun-warmed tomato, freshly plucked from a mature plant just inches tall. The rise of compact edible plants—everything from eight-inch tomatoes to three-foot berry bushes and columnar apple trees—offers gardeners a way to grow de

Compost is the not-so-secret ingredient for a successful garden. Gardeners love to create their own compost, putting garden and kitchen waste to good use and ultimately sending less material to landfills. But not every gardener has the space for a cl

EVERY YEAR, various plant-focused organizations choose species or cultivars to call out as most deserving of a spot in gardens. These award programs help gardeners navigate broad categories of plants to find those choice individuals that are most lik

AFTER A CHILDHOOD spent helping on the small family farm in southern Ohio and playing in the nearby woods, where he enjoyed eating wild berries and pawpaws, Mark Wessel studied horticulture in college and then worked as a fine gardener on private est

It’s not just a trend; using North American native plants is increasingly the no-brainer solution for lowering garden maintenance, with the added benefit of supporting critical biodiversity. Nothing beats something that’s already at home where you ga

Is there a more versatile tree than crab-apples (Malus)? These ornamental wonders are among the most popular garden trees, delivering multiseason interest in all shapes and sizes. And crabapples keep getting better! New varieties offer disease resist

The trending excitement over the bold foliage and summer star power of tropical and subtropical plants is nothing new. In years-long crazes over the course of nearly two centuries, adventurous gardeners in temperate, cold-winter climates have used th

IN PARTICIPATORY SCIENCE, people from all walks of life contribute to research projects that build toward a better understanding of the natural world. Usually designed and managed by professional scientists, these volunteer projects allow an organiza

ROADSIDE SIGNS or advertisements of any other kind that have descriptors like “botanical” or “horticultural” in conjunction with words like “garden,” “plantation,” “nursery” or “arboretum” will draw me to the highlighted setting like a bee to goldenr

What is your ideal garden? Perhaps you’re thinking of beautiful flowers, inviting paths and insects eating the plants. Yes, you read that right. While it sounds odd, insects are integral to holistic gardening, a gardening method that uses native plan

AFTER GARDENING for more than 35 years, I can tell you with absolute certainly that there is no such thing as a perfect vegetable garden. I can also say that while experience may be the best teacher, avoiding the following common mistakes can save yo

Praise to the garden for all it has given me, many years of soil between my fingers and sun on my face. For it has taught me to appreciate beauty when beauty presents itself, no matter how fleeting. When the peonies, tall and sumptuous, get flattened

I have been exploring the wild landscapes of Maine since my youth, and I have always been intrigued by the outcrops of rock ledges that mysteriously rise up through the surface of the ground. My curiosity has been piqued not just by their geology, bu

In December 1904, the first issues of Horticulture were published, with five issues appearing that month. At the time, the publication served as a weekly journal for professional florists, landscape gardeners, nurserymen, greenhouse growers and other

When most gardeners see an article about the plant family Berberidaceae, their immediate reaction is one of disdain, because they quickly associate the family with Berberis thunbergii, or Japanese barberry, now considered highly invasive in many stat

SINCE 1992, Fergus Garrett has been the Head Gardener at Great Dixter in England, first working alongside his mentor and the renowned garden’s creator, Christopher Lloyd, and later assuming the additional role of Chief Executive after Lloyd’s passing

EACH YEAR plant brands release exciting new cultivars to market, the results of years of breeding, selecting, trialing and propagating. New plants are bred to enhance traits that make them stand out against comparable cultivars—and in your garden. On

In a vast world of plants, botanical Latin miraculously allows one gardener in Japan and another in New Jersey to compare notes on the same plant. It gives valuable clues to a plant’s height, attributes and uses. But it’s not perfect—and not just bec

IF YOU GARDEN LONG ENOUGH, you run out of garden. Planned and unplanned plant purchases can really eat up some ground, and whether your garden is large or small, sooner or later it gets used up. And it’s not like the garden centers make it any easier