Focus on Flowers

As the growing season winds down, there are some plants, known in the trade as season extenders, that bridge the gap between fall and winter in gardens.

Many different flowers have been used as food garnishes. However, there are also many toxic plants in our gardens.

We love flowers, but we should always look at them in the garden, not eat them, as many have also been exposed to chemicals before we purchase them.

It's time to move the houseplants indoors…

Perennial garden plants should bloom sequentially. Plants have bloom times that overlap, hopefully, so there can be a series of different plants in bloom across an entire season.

In the late 18th century, William Morris, a prominent advocate of the Arts and Crafts movement, wanted all of England to become a garden where nothing was wasted.

Late in the summer, Prunus persica produces hard little peaches that I have never have the chance to taste, as they are always knocked off the branches by wild animals.

All azaleas are rhododendrons but not all rhododendrons are azaleas.

Some may not consider the flower pretty, so perhaps "striking” is a better adjective.

There are over 200 species of hibiscus, and they are beloved because of their big showy flowers and green, clean-looking foliage. They fall into three different major categories: tropical, perennial and hardy.