Think spinach meets celery under neon lights, and you have a pretty good description of this colorful and nutritious vegetable. Read on for all you need to know to grow it in your garden! Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris, (Cicla and Flavescens Groups) Swiss chard, B. vulgaris, is a type of beet. But instead of featuring a well-developed and flavorful root, its claim to fame is glossy puckered leaves veined with bright white, orange, magenta, red, or yellow, with firm stalks to match....

In this guide, I’ll share everything you need to know. Boysenberries, Rubus ursinus x R. idaeus, are tasty hybrid berries that typically grow best in USDA Hardiness Zones 5-9. I’m in Zone 4, and it is admittedly audacious of me to to grow them here. But what’s the fun of gardening without a challenge? Fortunately, with adequate winter care, my boysenberries produce a delicious harvest year after year. In our guide to growing boysenberries, we cover how to cultivate these shrubs in your garden....

However, many varieties have unique requirements for ripening. They’re picked when mature but still underripe and placed in cold storage for conditioning before they can be ripened. Sweet, juicy pears are a favorite autumn fruit. Fragrant and flavorful, they’re wonderful for fresh eating, desserts, or made up into preserves. Harvested from mid-summer to mid-fall, depending on the cultivar, many varieties make excellent keepers and can be stored for months given the right conditions....

Winterizing a rain barrel is a must if you live in a cold climate like I do. Leaving it full of water when the temps drop below freezing could severely damage, if not destroy it. In this post, I’ll show you exactly how to prepare and store a rain barrel for winter, step by step. The other day my neighbor asked me what to do with her rain barrels in winter....

Shrubs Thinking of adding some bushes with pink flowers to your home or garden space, but aren't quite sure what to look for? There are many different shrubs with pink flowers that will survive across many different hardiness zones. In this article, we look at our favorite decidious and evergreen pink flower bushes that you can add to your home or garden this season. By Jason White Last updated: December 30, 2022 | 18 min read Already fill your flower garden with pink flowers, but you’ve decided that you just can’t get enough pink?...

Daylilies are always one of the most dramatic and one of the most remarkable denizens of the garden, but like other flowers, the way daylilies are planted will have a strong impact on how they grow and thrive. It is important to understand the needs of these remarkable flowers in order to get the most vibrant and long lasting blooms. Growing Conditions for Daylilies One thing that gardeners will need to know is that daylilies are true sun loving plants....

Watering poinsettias is a struggle for many, and doing it wrong is one of the biggest mistakes that people make. In this post I’ll show you all you need to know including when, how much, and how often they need it. Properly watering poinsettias is a key part in keeping them healthy through the holiday season and beyond. It can be tricky for beginners to understand how to give them just the right amount throughout the year....

Usually, we associate summer containers with annuals, but you can get creative with shade perennials, as well. In this article, I’m going to share some shade container gardening ideas I’ve gathered, as well as some important growing advice to put together pots that will jazz up porches, decks, and other living spaces. Shade container gardening tips Shade container gardening is not that different from putting together arrangements for sun. However there are a few pieces of advice that will hopefully set you up for success....

String of pearls plants look like they would be hard to grow, but they are surprisingly easy to care for. In this complete guide, I’ll tell you all you need to know in order to keep them thriving for decades to come. Whether you’re after something low-maintenance or looking for a truly unique houseplant, the quirky string of pearls is just what you need. It’s perfect for beginners and adds a focal point to any room....

A major component of this process involves the use of plants known as xerophytes. These are species that, by design, consume less water from the ground than others, and thrive – rather than merely surviving – in drought conditions. What is xerophytic gardening? If we dissect the word, the prefix “xero-” means dry, and the suffix “-phytic” means plant. Simply put, it’s the process of designing a sustainable, environmentally-friendly garden or landscape that works to conserve water, and this type of design is usually employed where liquid water is scarce....

So, say you planted some nutritious maize. Corn gets a bad rap these days. It’s in everything from breakfast cereal to dog food to skin care products, so how can it be healthy? Well, my friends, it is. Especially sweet corn, which is loaded with fiber, vitamin C, folate, thiamine, magnesium, and potassium, all of which are essential to human health. It’s the processed products you have to watch out for, not garden-grown deliciousness....

Determining when to harvest potatoes can seem intimidating, because they are underground and you can’t see them. But really it is quite easy, and there’s no need to worry. I’ll guide you through everything you need to know about harvesting potatoes. You’ll learn how to tell when to gather them, how to dig them up, and what you should do before storing to ensure they last the longest. Follow these simple instructions, and you’ll have a bountiful potato harvest that will last well into the winter....

A knockout when mass planted in containers and throughout the garden, they also naturalize readily – given the right conditions. Charming and diverse, anemones put on an eye-catching and long-lasting floral display from early spring into fall. Anemone is a large genus, and many folks will be familiar with the charm of the daisy-like Grecian windflowers, aka Balkan anemones, that pop up in early spring. They’re soon followed by other species with delightful poppy-like flowers, some that bloom from late spring into summer and others flowering from late summer into fall....

They also make striking additions spilling over the side of containers and retaining walls, creeping in rockeries, trimmed into fanciful topiary, stabilizing banks and slopes, and in xeriscapes. With pretty spring flowers, beautiful greenery, fantastic fall colors, and bright red berries, cotoneaster is an easy and reliable performer with great versatility. Different species provide varying architectural forms, making these shrubs wonderfully adaptable throughout the garden and landscape. Creeping and prostrate types are low-growing and are typically used as ground covers....

There’s a real advantage to being able to grow tomatoes for fresh eating in your own garden. These particular varieties don’t ordinarily pack or travel well, so they’re not always available commercially, or even at the farmers market. At the start of the new year, seed catalogs hold me spellbound, particularly as I try to decide which slicing tomatoes I will plant this year. I attempt to be conservative when selecting how many of these Solanum lycopersicum varieties will fit in my raised beds, especially since I also like to grow determinate paste tomatoes for canning, and maybe a cherry variety or two....

Tropical plants are a great choice to bring colors, textures, and that laid-back tropical feel to your home. While they don’t grow outdoors in the cold climate, you can definitely grow them indoors. Provide them warm room temperature, bright light, and these Tropical Foliage Plants will grow well! Check out our article on indoor plants with rainbow foliage here 1. Anthurium Anthurium includes many amazing species that you can grow indoors....

What makes succulents so popular is their ease of growing and stylish appearance. Echeverias are one of the most attractive succulents, coming in many shapes and colors Native to mountainous ranges of Central and South America the species have nearly 150 recognized types that can make it hard for you to select the best one. Here are the Best Echeveria Types you can grow! The Best Echeveria Types to Grow 1....

These smart Indoor Window Shelf Ideas for Plants are a great way to grow them in a limited space. You can try growing herbs, flowers, and some veggies this way too! Have a look at our article on windowsill vegetable gardening here Indoor Window Shelf Ideas for Plants 1. Hanging Tins on a Long Drift Wood Branch Hang planters on a driftwood branch on a window to make the best use of the space....

When you showcase the plants in a certain way, it adds to the overall look, enhancing their beauty considerably. Here are some of the best DIY Indoor Plant Display Ideas you can use that take very little space, making them perfect for urban homes. We have some great ideas to showcase houseplants here DIY Indoor Plant Display Ideas 1. A Perfect Plant Wall Get white floating shelves from any local or online store and hang them on a wall to display your favorite houseplants in an elegant way....

But what if just the long, pointed leaves grow, and no flowers bloom at all? For gardeners who want an easy-to-grow flower that refines their capacity for patience, daffodils are perfect. You plant them before the ground freezes in the fall or winter, and then you’re rewarded in the spring with the most cheerful, nodding faces. Unless… you aren’t. Perennial daffodils (Narcissus spp.) are some of the first blooms of the spring season, opening their buds as early as January or February in warmer climes, and as late as April or May in frigid areas like Alaska, where I live....