Plants & Gardening
I have a passion for plants.
How to Make a Mandevilla Thrive Indoors
One morning this last fall, my friend Angela called to say she had some orphaned plants she wanted me to have because they needed a good home. You may remember Angela’s a dear friend who’s a container designer and regularly switches out arrangements for clients. In this particular instance, she’d…
5 Tips for Growing a Successful Variegated African Violet
If you’ve followed this blog at all, you probably know that I’m charmed by African Violets (Saintpaulia). I mean, I did write a whole novel about a magical one! That’s because I adore everything about these little guys. I love their fuzzy leaves. I love how they grow in almost…
Author J.A. Jance Imagined a Colorful Epic Garden
You know I love visiting gardens so when thriller author J. A. Jance invited me to tour her Seattle-area garden, I jumped at the chance. It’s a wonderfully imagined colorful space inspired by an epic poem by C. Day-Lewis. Jance fell in love with the poem decades ago at a…
5 of the Easiest House Plants to Grow
If you’d like some greenery in your home or office but your only talent for plants is killing them, don’t despair. House plants that don’t mind low light and little water do exist. They won’t take it personally if you ignore them for a while. And like many plants, they’ll…
How to Make a Plant Combination That Pops
Creating a plant combination that pops is tricky. You have to use plants that like similar conditions of light, water, and soil. Then you have to create an overall design that incorporates varying shapes and colors that both clash and recall each other’s characteristics. While it takes a bit of…
A Pretty Petunia Is Best for Beginner Gardeners
For beginner gardeners, a simple reliable petunia is the best choice to grow for long summer color. Experienced gardeners might argue these zone 9-11 annuals are trite. They’re available at every nursery and hardware store, bursting in bright colors, begging loudly to be taken home. Still, they cheer up a…
The 10 Best Perennials for Sun
While creating my last A Vine of Ideas digest, I wanted to share a decent list of the best perennials to grow in sun. But the lists I found were lacking. They were too long, not broad enough in terms of zonal hardiness, included fussy or hard-to-find plants, or listed…
An Azara is Exotic but Easy to Grow
If you’re looking for an exotic tree that offers unusual foliage but is easy to grow, try an azara in your garden. This native of South America has tiny glossy leaves, a tidy upright habit, and super cute pompom flowers. It requires little to no pruning and stays evergreen for…
