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Growing Tomatoes Indoors Fresh tomatoes year-round? It is possible! We asked a tomato expert for tips on successfully growing tomatoes indoors, no matter how much space you have. You don't need a backyard garden or a hot and sunny climate to grow delicious tomatoes. To find tips on growing tomatoes indoors, we turned to a tomato expert. Craig LeHoullier (known as the Johnny Appleseed of tomatoes for owning and sharing nearly 5,000 tomato seed varieties) is a gardener, educator, and author of "Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Greatest Varieties of All Time." He gave me the inside scoop. If you're lucky and persistent, you can grow and eat tomatoes 12 months a year! Tip 1: Choose the best tomato variety to grow indoors First, you can grow tomatoes indoors! But you need to understand what tomato plants need to bear fruit, and it's not just the vines that spin. Choosing the right tomatoes is key to success. For example, Cherokee purple tomatoes c

Best perennials for the low-maintenance garden If you're a new gardener, you're in for a great adventure! But with so many perennials to choose from, it's hard to know which one is the best. Don't worry. Read on and you'll find 15 easy perennials like these heliopsis and phlox that are great choices for new gardeners. 1. Heliopsis Heliopsis helianthoides Native to eastern and midwestern North America, heliopsis is an excellent perennial for new gardeners. It grows 1 to 6 feet tall. Yellow 2-in. Blooms last two weeks in summer and are abundant. There are many Heliopsis cultivars, all of which require the same growing conditions and care. Some are of different sizes, some have semi-double or double flowers, and a couple have variegated foliage. You can cut a handful without missing bouquets in the garden. 2. Garden phlox Phlox paniculata Garden phlox is a longtime garden favorite and for good reason. Large clusters of flowers atop long or short stems depe

 Long-blooming perennials  👉 Pinterest 👉  Facebook Perennials come back on their own every year, unlike annuals that need to be replaced after winter. Disadvantage of perennials: shorter flowering time than annuals. However, you can achieve nearly continuous color with these long-blooming perennials that bloom all summer (and some produce flowers from spring to fall). 1. Black-Eyed Susan These popular, long-blooming perennials should be at the top of your list. Black-eyed Susan daisies bloom for weeks and weeks in summer, lighting up gardens with their bright yellow petals. Additionally, deer tend to avoid this drought-tolerant plant. Get extra blooms, prevent unwanted self-seeding, and prevent spent blooms. 2. Blanket flower If you are planting a cut garden, add blanket flowers. This hardy but beautiful native perennial has red and yellow flowers from early summer through fall. It doesn't mind heat, drought, or poor soil, and pollinators like bumblebees love it. 3.

Designing a Landscaped Garden 👉   Pinterest 👉   Facebook You may be thinking about replacing your lawn with something more sustainable. You may have a shady spot where nothing grows. Or you might hope to create more habitat for wildlife like birds and butterflies. A natural garden or landscape is an increasingly popular solution to all these situations, but you may worry that it will be too weedy or messy. Here are five design tips to help you create a space that appeals to both humans and wildlife. 1. Choose compatible native plants. You've probably heard the saying "right plant, right place," and never has this been truer than in landscape garden design. What this saying means is that if a plant grows in dry clay in full sun in the wild, you should put it in your landscape. Sometimes we force plants into conditions they don't like because the plant is beautiful, but it goes against nature's design. With a little research, you can find all kinds of

Plant a pollinator garden 👉  Pinterest 👉  Facebook One of the biggest causes of declining pollinator populations is habitat loss. Butterflies, bees and other important pollinators are becoming increasingly rare in many residential gardens across the country due to the widespread use of pesticides and the decline of the nectar-rich flowers they rely on for food. Fortunately, by dedicating a space in your garden to pollinator-friendly plants, local pollinators can be well-fed all season long. Pollination is important Almost all flowering plants must be pollinated to produce seeds. And most flowering plants depend on bees, butterflies, and other animals (bats, hummingbirds) for pollination. Although there are non-native plants and hybrids that feed on pollinators, you can count on native plants to attract local pollinators because they are interspersed. Cultivars of native plants - often referred to as "natives" - may support pollination, but not in all cases (see

Garden Design  Landscape Pro 👉  Pinterest 👉   Facebook  Starting a garden can feel overwhelming. And sometimes it's hard to know if you like something until you see it. By then, you've put in enough hours, hard work, and money that it's hard to change. These 6 smart design tips from landscape designer and educator Rochelle Grayer can help. Follow her simple tips and you'll be on your way to enjoying your garden instead of agonizing over it! 1. Work from the middle, not the edges inward. It can be tempting to start designing by implementing what already exists. For example, many gardeners' first beds are borders around the property line. Instead, decide what's most important to you and design from that. Maybe you really want a vegetable garden. Or maybe a shady spot is more important to you. If so, design traffic patterns, hardscaping and views to create a thoughtful, cohesive layout, starting with wherever works best in your garden. 2. Change the

Grow a water-wise garden with drought-tolerant flowers 👉   Pinterest 👉  Facebook If you've found yourself watering more than you expected over the past several years, you're not alone. Plants (and gardeners!) suffer because many parts of the country have long periods between rainfalls. But with irrigation restrictions in many communities, grabbing a hose isn't always the answer. Who really wants to do that anyway? Applying mulch to retain moisture and watering deeply to encourage roots to stretch into the soil are two things that help plants survive drought conditions. But ultimately, incorporating plants that can handle less water is a better long-term strategy for combating drought. We've picked 6 of our favorites for you to try here, so keep reading to find out more! 1. Bearded iris (iris hybrids) Bearded irises, once established, are incredibly drought tolerant, thanks to their large rhizomes that allow these plants to store water and nutrients for fu

varieties with different flowering times 👉   Pinterest 👉  Facebook Peonies put on such a beautiful show, you hate it to end! Keep the blooms coming by planting peony varieties with different bloom times. Extend the peony program Peonies only bloom once in the spring and in a few years those wonderful blooms seem to be gone in a flash. You can extend the show by growing peony varieties with different bloom times. You can find early, mid and late blooming peonies and can take up to 6 weeks to get color depending on the weather. (Hot weather accelerates this process.) Early bloomers bloom about a month before mid-season bloom. Mid-season peonies bloom from late April in southern gardens to early June in northern gardens. Late blooming when mid-season flowering ends. Peony cut flower notes With all these blooms, you'll often have plenty to cut off a few handfuls to enjoy those lusciously fragrant blooms. Look for open flowers or buds with color, then use pruners to cut o

 13 container plants to make your space  👉  Pinterest 👉  Facebook If you're faced with limited space, poor soil quality, or a desire to add beauty to your front porch, container gardens offer a great solution. They allow you to elevate your landscape and work around common gardening difficulties. Although many plants can be grown in containers, some species are better suited to this particular growing environment. Below, we'll highlight the best plants that not only thrive in containers, but also contribute to the aesthetics of your outdoor landscape. 1. Coleus Coleus plants are known for their vibrant foliage in a variety of colors and patterns. They thrive in partial shade and are relatively low maintenance. Coleus is perfect for containers because of its compact size and colorful foliage, which is why it's a great choice for adding visual interest to patios and balconies. 2. Succulent Succulents have thick, fleshy leaves that store water, are drought tolerant and easy