Robby 
Sunflowers are known for their bright, cheerful faces and tall stalks. But those vibrant blooms can quickly turn into a disappointment when black dots appear on the leaves. These unsightly spots indicate your sunflower is under duress While the dots may seem purely cosmetic at first, they can hinder your plant’s ability to photosynthesize and … Read more
In the spring, many of us buy those tried-and-true annuals that provide floral interest all summer long. Think geraniums, violets, marigolds, and of course, petunias. A trip to the nursery in the spring would not be complete without a hanging basket or three full of bright flowers. When we take those hanging baskets down and … Read more
Seed Savers Exchange is offering seven varieties of garlic for sale this year. Garlic orders open on July 1, 2024!. Garlic is one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. I use it in everything from pasta sauce to stir-fries. But garlic can be expensive to buy at the grocery store, especially if you use … Read more
Every year around the middle of summer, my ornamental grasses fall over and look bad instead of standing straight up like other people’s do. Is there anything I can do to keep them from flopping?. A: Some grasses are taller and denser and just more prone to flopping over like that than others. Maidenhair grass … Read more
Melon plants get yellow leaves when they are stressed by things in their environment that are not living. Gerald Holmes, Strawberry Center, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Bugwood org. A lot of different environmental stressors can also make seedlings and transplants get white, tan, or brown spots and splotches. These include temperature extremes, wide temperature … Read more
Slender, low to short softly hairy plant, often only 2 to 5 cm tall. Basal leaves in a rosette, lanceolate, stem leaves oblong, unstalked. Flowers bright blue, 2 to 3 mm the petals scarcely exceeding the calyx. Similar Species. The calyx has hairs that stick out and are either hooked or curved. The flower stalks, … Read more
Hostas are prized primarily for their foliage but they also have attractive, often scented, summer flowers. These hardy perennials grow in clumps and are popular with people who garden in containers. In the spring and summer, they have the best low-growing foliage. Thriving in light and medium shade, they’re incredibly useful plants. Hosta foliage is … Read more
If you want to know where it’s hot and dry, look at this west-facing Seattle garden (by Tim Moshier of Cambium Landscape). The plants love the sun. Photographs by Debra Prinzing. In the West, gardeners have the unique benefit of not having to follow many rules about how to plan and grow their plants. We … Read more
Allium, which is sometimes called “flowering onion,” is a beautiful and unusual flowering bulb that will make any garden more interesting. As the name suggests, allium plants are in the same family as garlic, onions, leeks, and chives. All of these plants have flower heads that look like pom-poms and are round. However, alliums are … Read more
I’ve propagated many plants over the years and one of my favorite plants to propagate is Russian sage. I was able to move some Russian sage cuttings (Perovskia atriplicifolia) into pots yesterday so they can grow for a little while before I plant them in the garden. In this post I’ll describe how I propagate … Read more