Fine Gardening – Issue 216

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Essential Garden Tools for Spring

Prune effortlessly with these adjustable loppers A good pair of loppers can make spring pruning a breeze. However, most loppers seem to make even a strong person feel pathetically weak…
Tips for Installing and Caring for a Pollinator Garden

Choosing a palette of plants that will sustain pollinators throughout the growing season is a great start. However, the way you plant and care for your selections can provide additional…
Pruning Shortcuts for the Busy Gardener

Friends don’t let friends prune without a reason. If you are pruning without a clear idea of why, put down the pruners and walk away from the plant. Trees and…
Create a Botanical Tapestry by Knitting Vignettes Together in Your Garden

What happens when an avowed plant collector puts down roots on a blank garden slate? When I purchased my property, the small lot in a Zone 5b/6a Denver suburb had…
6 Knitter Plants That Can Tie a Garden Together

Among the diverse combinations, several adaptable players help to knit the different parts of the garden together, thriving in a variety of microclimates and design aesthetics. See how Dan Johnson…
Reader Tips for Simplifying Early Spring Chores

Here’s the scoop on top-dressing I prefer to top-dress my flower beds while my perennials are napping safely underground, but I often find myself doing this while the plants are…
Ladybird® Sunglow Texas Primrose Is a Low-Care Perennial with Cheerful Blooms

It’s not often that a new genus goes mainstream. In 2021 we received Ladybird® Sunglow Texas primrose as a trial plant from Proven Winners, and it quickly proved itself to…
‘Electric Blue’ Foothill Penstemon Is a Tough Native with a Unique Hue

As a true plant geek, I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for blue flowers. An impressive, truly blue flower is a rarity in nature. Perhaps that’s why I’ve been drawn…
Fizzy Mizzy® Virginia Sweetspire Is a Compact Native Shrub with Pollinator Power

You might be asking yourself, “Why would I need Fizzy Mizzy® when I already have Little Henry®?” Little Henry® Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica ‘Sprich’, Zones 5–9) is an excellent compact shrub,…
Garden Pest and Disease Watch: Eastern Filbert Blight and Elm Zigzag Sawfly

Question: My 30-year-old Harry Lauder’s walking stick (Corylus avellana* ‘Contorta’, Zones 4–8) is starting to die back. Some leaves are chlorotic and then turn brown, with the branch becoming dry…
Unique Spring-Container Design Ideas

When the bulbs first start breaking through the ground in spring, it’s easy to focus all our energy on our garden beds. After all, there are edges to sharpen, holes…
How to Design a Serene and Immersive Garden Oasis

I was painfully shy as a child, often taking refuge in the forested greenbelt adjacent to our suburban backyard. It was the early 1970s, before children were kept on a…
9 Foliage Plants You Can’t Live Without

When you rely on foliage over flowers, a plant rarely experiences a “down period.” The following are all plants that play an important role in my garden’s composition. See how…
9 Fantastic Flowering Trees

While gardeners often extol the virtues of outstanding bark and winter interest, let’s not kid ourselves—flower power reigns supreme. A tree that is a stately focal point most of the…
4 Essential Tips for Pruning Flowering Trees

Pruning can be intimidating. Many of us fear making a mistake our plants won’t recover from. Overall, trees are resilient; with a little practice and know-how, any gardener should be…
Expert-Tested New Heucheras That Are Better Than the Classics

Who remembers when ‘Palace Purple’ was one of the hottest perennials in the market? It was the heuchera I planted in my new garden 30 years ago. I liked its…
Tips and Tricks for Growing Heucheras Successfully

Heucheras are somewhere in between plant-them-and-forget-them perennials and high-maintenance divas. At home in garden beds and superstars in containers, they will reward you handsomely when given proper conditions and care.…
The Best Ground-Cover Plants for Attracting Pollinators

Although pollinator populations are diminishing worldwide due to habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, and disease, gardeners can slow this decline through cultivating and maintaining safe environments where winged garden visitors…
Gardening Buyer’s Guide 2024

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get outside and get my hands into the warm dirt. Gardening season can't come soon enough this year. In the meantime,…
Spring Planting Plans for Your Region

In her article “Spring Planting Ideas,” Michelle Gervais beautifully illustrates the magical time that is the start of spring: "Our winter-weary spirits lift as hints of green begin to appear.…
Excuse Me—Do You Have a Tree for Me? | Letter from the Editor

If you’re a gardener—and since you picked up this magazine I’m guessing you are—you probably get peppered with plant questions all the time. I know I do. Take Thanksgiving just…
5 Easy Ways to Test Your Garden Soil pH at Home

Most people know that soil pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline your soil is. Soils naturally have a wide range of pH values, with most ranging from…