Look at your garage. Shelves of hockey sticks, rusty rakes, mystery cardboard boxes that haven’t been opened since your last move. Now close your eyes and imagine—a guest bedroom, a studio, a clubhouse. For inspiration, take a look inside ten garages that have been magically transformed:
Work with what you have was the Remodelista editors’ mantra this week. For a new year, here are five of their favorite ways to make a space feel fresh:
Chrysanthemums don’t get the respect they deserve. For one thing, the only time anybody thinks of these cheery daisies is in the autumn, when you see them sold widely in plant nurseries and garden centers— at the exact wrong time to plant them if you want them to bloom again next year.
This creates a vicious cycle for the poor mum, purchased in August or September only to be treated as an annual filler flower and replaced next year. Which is why we are here, in January, to get you to think a new way about these lovely members of the daisy family. May we suggest that you start chrysanthemums from seed indoors in early spring—two months before the last frost date in your region—and harden them off before you transplant seedlings to the garden to grow perennial flowers (in USDA zones 5 to 9)?
Another benefit to starting with seeds is you will be able to choose among a wider selection of varieties, such as spider mums, and more colors. (See UK gardener Sarah Raven’s Abundant Chrysanths Collection for £8.95, of five rooted varieties: ‘Anastasia Green’, ‘Yara Green’, ‘Porto Purple’, ‘Orange Allouise’, and ‘Sheer Purple’.)
Are chrysanthemums the right flower to grow in your garden? Read on for everything you need to know:
To learn more of the history of chrysanthemums, we turn to the National Chrysanthemum Society. which reports that “the chrysanthemum was first cultivated in China as a flowering herb and is described in writings as early as the 15th century B.C..”
Over the centuries, as chrysanthemums traveled around the world and were tinkered with by generations of growers, their shapes and sizes changed. “Ancient growers would not recognize modern mums. Although some mums still resemble daisies, others are more showy,” notes the society.
Mums’ flower colors range from white to yellow to red, to pink, purple, and bronze and in the US more than 100 different cultivars are grown. Chrysanthemums flower in many different shapes, from varieties that look like pompoms, to spider mums, quilled mums, and anemone mums with tight button centers.
If you don’t start your own from seed, the best time to buy chrysanthemum seedlings is in the spring. This will give them several months to establish a healthy root system that can survive winter. Don’t worry—they’ll bloom the first year.
The chemical pyrethrum, which occurs naturally in chrysanthemums, is an insect repellent. For natural pest control, plant chrysanthemums at the perimeter of an edible garden bed. See more in Edible Gardens: A Field Guide to Planting, Care & Design.
Cheat Sheet
Perennial mums should be divided every three years to keep them healthy and encourage blooming. To divide, dig up a plant in early spring, divide its root system into three or four separate sections, and replant them all.
Popular container plants, chrysanthemums in pots should be fertilized weekly to keep them flowering.
In the garden, good companion plants for mums are vegetables and late-season flowering perennials such as coneflowers. In containers, pair them with Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and alyssum.
Keep It Alive
Chrysanthemums like moist well-drained soil (if it’s too dry, their roots won’t spread and if it’s too wet, the roots will rot).
Full sun (six or more hours a day) will encourage chrysanthemums to flower profusely.
When transplanting seedlings, remember that most mums will reach a diameter of 3 feet at maturity; don’t crowd them.
Even in the cold of January, there are tasks to be done in the garden, DIY salves to be made, and organizing (in the shed, the garage, the entryway) for the new year and spring ahead. Here are 8 things to know about this weekend:
What’s your weather like this week? If it’s keeping you indoors, stay posted for our tips on how to perk up your potted orchids and other houseplants. If the days are mild, join us in the garden where we’ll be pruning our climbing roses (we’ve discovered leather gauntlet gloves that will defeat even the sharpest thorns).
Here’s what’s ahead in a week of new directions:
We’ve got more landscaping ideas and indoor plant projects coming this week:
How to dry your favorite herbs at home, step by step
Parisian designers’ secrets: chic paint colors for a façade
10 things you didn’t know about orchids
Meet zoysia grass, your new best friend (and eco-conscious lawn alternative)
Leather gauntlet gloves that will change your life (and forearms) forever
In case you missed last week’s most popular posts:
“Orchids seem to drive people crazy,” the author Susan Orlean wrote in The Orchid Thief. “Those who love them love them madly.”
This has been true for centuries, and in the 18oos Europeans’ obsession with the tropical hothouse flowers reached such a fever pitch that it was dubbed Orchidelirium. These days, the once-expensive exotic epiphytes have become common, thanks to tissue-cloning techniques that makes mass production possible.
But although you can buy an orchid for under $20 at nearly any neighborhood supermarket, this does not mean you will know how to keep the plant alive at home. Orchids can be fussy—or at least mysterious—in their demands.
Let’s reveal a few of the flowers’ secrets—here are 10 things nobody tells you about orchids.
1. The easiest orchid to grow is a Phalaenopsis.
Also known as a moth orchids, Phalaenopsis is a a beginner’s best friend because they will grow in low light and do not require extreme humidity. “Speaking as a home hobbyist grower, I also think Phalaenopsis orchids are probably the easiest to get to re-bloom,” says orchid seller Susie Turner of Green Door Design in Mill Valley, California. For more of her tips, see Orchids: Expert Advice from Susie Turner.
2. If you think it’s time to water your orchid, wait one more day.
“Avoid overwatering which leads to the demise of many more orchids than under-watering,” warns the American Orchid Society. To determine if your orchid needs water, “use the pencil trick (the point of a sharpened pencil, when inserted into the medium, will darken with moisture if the plant has enough water). And, there’s always the old standby – put your finger in the mix. If it feels wet, it is wet. If you aren’t sure whether it is time to water, wait one more day,” the society recommends.
3. To get an orchid to re-bloom, trick it into thinking it’s in the tropics.
When an orchid stops blooming,, cut off the flower stalk at the base of the plant. Then put your moth orchid in a room in your house where you can simulate the tropical climate conditions it likes. It needs a month’s worth of daily temperature drops of at least 10 degrees from day to night, says orchid whisperer Mary Gerritsen, the author of A Bay Area Guide to Orchids and their Culture.
4. You probably don’t need to put your orchid in a bigger pot.
Orchids like tight spaces. Don’t repot yours until its roots have grown through the holes on the pot and are dangling in air. (One exception to this rule is if you buy an orchid that is potted in moss. In that case, repot it immediately in a proper orchid potting mix.)
5. Your orchid will not be any happier in a special Swiss-cheese pot.
The Swiss-cheese pots attempt to replicate orchid-growing conditions in the wild, where the plants either grow visibly on the surface of trees (with roots attached to the bark of tree branches) or on rocks, with roots working their way into crevices. But it’s not necessary to use an open-air orchid pot if your plant’s roots have good air circulation in a pot.
6. An orchid will not grow in soil.
Orchids are epiphytes, and in their native tropical environments, they grow on trees (not in soil). Plant orchids in an orchid potting mix (which contains wood chips or bark) and they will be happy.
7. It’s not OK to use ice cubes on orchids.
Some orchid owners avoid over-watering by putting an ice cube in the pot at the base of the plant. As the ice slowly melts, it releases water for the plant’s roots to absorb. But experts warn against this practice. For one thing, orchids are tropical plants that love warmth—and ice cubes are cold.
Here’s what the Oregon Orchid Society says on the subject: ” The ice cube idea is to provide minimal water in the orchid’s suboptimal conditions. The problem is, even though this might mimic the amount of water that the orchid had in their upbringing, misted hourly in mass greenhouses, over time the plant will die from being cramped in suboptimal conditions. If you want to keep your orchid alive for years, the solution is regular watering with room-temperature water after repotting the orchid into proper orchid mix (usually bark) and a good, well-draining pot.”
8. An orchid’s flowers can last for many months.
9. There are more than 25,000 different species of orchids.
10. In the 1800s, collectors paid thousands of dollars for a single orchid plant.
Orchidelirium (similar to the tulip mania that swept Holland in an earlier century) prompted Victorian-era plant collectors to buy rare orchids for high prices at auctions. Until the publication of the first edition of “The Orchid Grower’s Manual” in 1851, very little was known about how to propagate orchids or care for specimens brought back to Europe and the U.S. from tropical climates. Nowadays, thanks to improved propagation techniques that growers developed in tissue culture labs, an exotic orchid can be purchased for a few dollars at nearly any supermarket.
N.B.: Featured photo at the top of the post by Leslie Santarina.
First-time gardeners need a little extra help. With an edible container-garden kit from Dallas-based Gardenuity, they will get it. “You’ll automatically get weather alerts for your zip code from us,” says company co-founder Donna Letier. “If there’s an expected spring heat wave after you plant your tomatoes, we’ll tell you to roll them into the shade for the next two days.”
In fact, Gardenuity won’t even let you plant those tomatoes—or that basil or kale, or anything else—if the weather isn’t right. “Not a match today,” the site will inform you. You can request a notification when the time is right, but you can’t purchase an edible plant out of season.
“New gardeners want somebody to feel like they’re on the path with them—and we’re right there,” said Letier.
Gardenuity sells kits at prices from $28 to $49 to grow dozens of vegetables and herbs (kits are customized for indoor or outdoor placement). Some kits come with seeds and others with seedlings (depending on the easiest way to grow a particular plant).
Along with the kits, Gardenuity offers advice to “personally guide you through your growing experience.” This includes personalized weather alerts, feeding reminders, recipes, and step-by-step instructions for harvest.
“We try to make it easy—the whole container garden can be set up in an hour,” says Letier. “It’s like a piece of white paper towel. Just put the seed square on top of the bag and the seeds will germinate in nine or ten days.”
Please forget everything you think you know about dry gardens (especially if you are imagining harsh, spiky, half-dead-looking landscapes).
A low-water garden can have lush foliage, soft textures, and will welcome you into deep, luxurious shades of greens if Northern California-based landscape designer Daniel Nolan created it. Nolan, who made his name as an inventive in-house designer at San Francisco’s beloved Flora Grubb Gardens and is founder of the eponymous Daniel Nolan Design, recently collected 25 favorite projects (including some of his own) in a book, Dry Gardens.
Before he starts a new landscape project, Nolan says he “will ask myself: Is there a way we can reduce the water consumption?” Nolan’s gardens answer the question with personality, style, and an approachable feel. An expert on container gardens, as well, Nolan chooses plants that can thrive in dry soil with infrequent irrigation.
When we asked Nolan to share his secrets for designing a dry garden, he offered eight tips (illustrated beautifully in his book, with photographs by Caitlin Atkinson):
How do you reduce the size of your lawn? Nolan doesn’t oppose lawns, but he is considerate of appropriate sizes and scale. “Take any opportunity to expand your planting beds,” said Nolan. “Try spreading out your plants to give them ample room and show them off by selecting a gravel that contrasts and highlights their shape.”
2. Accessorize a swimming pool with sculptural silhouettes.
How do you add drama to the landscaping surrounding a swimming pool “Don’t be afraid to experiment with your ground cover selections beyond mulch,” says Nolan. “I think selecting the right stone is as important as the plant selection, a bigger rougher stone or Mexican pebble will make your plants standout.”
3. Add native plants (they’ll naturally thrive in your climate).
Texas natives thrive along this entrance border. “What makes it successful is that four plants are kept in graphic lines, the height of the oaks, the softness of the grasses, the texture of the prickly pear and the ground cover tying it all together,” says Nolan.
How do you create the right mix of native and non-native species in a dry garden? “Request natives. While most large commercial nurseries don’t carry a wide selection of native species to the area, smaller nurseries usually have a better selection and can point you towards plants that thrive in the local climate,” says Nolan.
4. Make a small garden feel larger, with layering.
Nolan believes that not all gardens need to be bone dry. A good mix of plants—including those which significantly reduce water consumption and others that are a bit more thirsty—is fine.
How do you create a layered look in an existing garden? “When you’re looking to add to your already-established garden, steer clear of heavy water consumers and look to either native or drought tolerant species,” says Nolan.
5. Embrace harsh beachfront climates, with succulents.
Nolan says, “Beach-front properties can be hard, and this one is so masterfully done because it’s three textures: a solid hedge of dwarf olive mixed with a lush agave and succulent garden and the Mexican feather grasses make it informal and add movement.”
What are perfect plants to choose for seaside gardens? “Succulents are perfect for seaside gardens because that is where most succulents are native to around the world and are able to handle not only the sun but the near constant wind and salt air,” says Nolan.
6. Don’t dismiss the obvious choices for container gardens.
When considering plants for your home or office, the ability for your leafy addition to be fuss-free and still survive after being potentially neglected are a must. “The sansevieria gets a bad wrap for being predictable when it’s really the chicest of interior plants,” says Nolan. “There are now dozens of varieties and doing a few varieties gives you a cool mix of colors and textures. Add a few cactus to the mix and it’s a garden you can enjoy with minimal care.”
What are common houseplants you also can choose for outdoor container gardens? “Mother-in-law’s tongues are the workhorses of houseplants, and combined with Cleistocactus, you will have a lush planting that requires almost no maintenance with minimal watering,” says Nolan.
7. Rely on already-established plants to create privacy.
Well-established bamboo (shown above) was left in place because it thrived in the clay and provided an efficient screen, but Nolan says, “We ended up removing a large patch of grass and installing the Phoenix dactylifera to give the pool a graphic element, and added the soft Acacia iteaphylla to create another layer.”
Why should you try to work around established plants when designing a dry garden? “Leave established plants because the longer an ornamental plant has grown in, the less water it needs,” says Nolan.
8. Say hello to the overlooked aloe.
This small space project feels cohesive because of “the repetition of specific plants in their containers and a muted color palette,” says Nolan.
Why should you include aloes (which are often overlooked) in a dry garden? “They offer scale in any desired application, from tree aloes to ground cover varieties,” says Nolan. “There are dozens of bloom colors as well, which contradicts the notion that dry gardens are not colorful.”
This year I’ve resolved to grow my own culinary herbs. After years of buying those tiny (plastic) packages of (expensive) bundled herbs at the grocery store, it’s time. Enter: technology. There are now a host of grow-it-yourself systems on the market that suit even the most cramped and light-less kitchens. Many of the kits are hydroponic, come with an efficient LED grow light, connect to your smart phone, or use NASA-like smart soil. Here are our 10 favorites.
Browse our newly updated 10 Easy Pieces archives. For other grow kits, tech-free included, see our posts:
Our list of the top 100 gardens to visit worldwide is very personal; many of these destinations are favorites our editors and contributors discovered in their travels. Others—from Athens to Australia—are new to us and we are determined to see them this year or next.
Some of the world’s most beautiful gardens we stumbled across in our travels and others are known to everyone who loves landscapes.
You probably have your own favorite gardens to add to this list. Please do—we’d want to hear about your discoveries (and add them to our must-visit list).
1. Lotusland: Montecito, California
Near Santa Barbara, the 37-acre Lotusland estate features otherworldly combinations of tropical plants, cacti, succulents, and ferns. “The story of the birth of Lotusland is as extraordinary as its survival,” writes our contributor Kendra Wilson. “An amalgam of two properties, the gardens around the Spanish hacienda-style house were extended in the 1940s by Madame Ganna Walska, a Polish opera singer with a colorful love life and a half dozen husbands. When she finally settled down in California, the recent end of her first career and the departure of husband number six allowed Walska to focus exclusively on building a theatrical garden.”
Visit: Advance reservations required; see Lotusland for details.
2. Lalbagh Botanical Garden: Bangalore, India
Once a private garden, the Lalbagh Botanical Garden dates to the 18th century (and has been a government garden since 1856). “Lots of large and shady tropical trees and a fine old glasshouse where Indira Gandhi split the Congress party in 1969” give this garden character and a special place in history, says historian Ramachandra Guha, a historian and biographer who lives in Bangalore.
Peckerwood Garden has seven acres of rare and vanishing plants–many of them desert specimens that architecture professor John G. Fairey brought home from the high mountains of northern Mexico during more than 80 plant-collecting expeditions over the past 30 years. An hour’s drive north of Houston, Peckerwood is open to the public on scheduled days.
Visit: See information about upcoming open days at Peckerwood Garden.
4. Le Plume: Normandy, France
Writes our contributor Kendra Wilson, “For anyone hankering after European formality—only a touch, we’re not talking Versailles—Le Jardin Plume in Upper Normandy is just the ticket. Influenced by more recent movements involving perennials and grasses, the former orchard is nevertheless firmly rooted in French garden tradition, including plenty of neat clipping and evergreen hedges.”
Visit: In addition to the garden, owners Patrick and Sylvie Quibel maintain a plant nursery. For hours and directions, see Le Jardin Plume.
5. Lithica Quarries: Menorca, Spain
“At Lithica, the sheltering walls of tidal quarries provide an ideal microclimate, mitigating prolonged summer heat and windy winters. Once, market gardens co-existed within the quarry; now native flora grows among fruit trees and vines,” writes our contributor Kendra Wilson. “These Mediterranean quarry gardens have an innately strong sense of place.” Read more at Menorcan Muse: Lessons from the Labyrinth in an Ancient Quarry.
Visit: “The s’Hostal quarries are situated at the Kilometer 1 in the Camí Vell, near the town center of Ciutadella de Menorca. The access to the quarries is trough the Ronda Sur, in the roundabout where a big rectangular sculpture is, known as ‘Puerta del Mar,'” notes the gardens’ website. See more at Lithica.
6. Lismore Castle: Waterford, Ireland
“Constructed as an abbey and was repeatedly plundered by Vikings before being taken over by the Normans, Lismore Castle in County Waterford was once in the possession of Sir Walter Raleigh, followed by the Great Earl of Cork Richard Boyle in 1602,” writes our contributor Kendra Wilson. “The garden designed for Boyle at that time remains today in the upper terraces of Lismore, while the lower pleasure gardens were designed by the legendary Sir Joseph Paxton, whose role as head gardener did not preclude activities in castle design.”
Visit: For opening hours (from March 16 to October 14 in 2019) and admission prices, see Lismore Castle.
7. Babylonstoren: Cape Town, South Africa
“Visitors to Babylonstoren, the opulently restored Cape Dutch farm and hotel 45 minutes from Cape Town, are encouraged to pick fruits and vegetables directly from the renowned kitchen gardens,” writes our contributor Marie Viljoen. Read more at Garden Visit: Behind the Scenes at Babylonstoren.
Visit: To book a garden tour, workshop, or overnight stay, see Babylonstoren.
8. Sissinghurst Castle: Kent, England
One of the most famous gardens in the world, Sissinghurst was semi-derilect when Sir Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West purchased it, castle tower included, in 1930. “Fortunately, that was just what the romantic Vita Sackville-West was looking for,” writes our contributor Kendra Wilson. Read more in Garden Travel: An Insider’s 9 Favorite English Gardens to Visit.
The gardens at Kyoto’s famous Zen temple, Ginkaku-ji, have spawned centuries of imitators with their perfectly calm air of serenity. Kogetsudai (gravel raked into the shape of mountains) is a familiar feature of Japanese gardens, and no example is more iconic than the carefully maintain gravel mountain here. See more at 10 Garden Ideas to Steal from Japanese Zen Masters.
Visit: For hours and admissions prices, see Shokoku.
10. Jardin Majorelle: Marrakech, Morocco
“In the first half of last century, as the Parisian arty set discovered the exotic wonders of Marrakech, French artist Louis Majorelle transformed a 12-acre palm grove into the Jardin Majorelle. With one masterful stroke of cobalt blue (a color inspired by Moroccan tiles), he transformed his Art Deco villa and studio into a powerful visual statement,” writes our contributing editor Christine Chang-Hanway. “Surrounded by botanical gardens of exotic plants and rare species that Majorelle collected on his travels around the world, the compound is a masterpiece so magnificent Yves Saint Laurent requested that his ashes be scattered on the grounds.”
Visit: For hours, admission, prices, and directions, see Jardin Majorelle.
11. Jardin Botánico: Quito, Ecuador
For those of us who live in climates where we see orchids blooming in supermarkets instead of the wild, it will be refreshing to travel to South America where several thousands of different kinds of orchids are native plants. In addition to orchids, Jardin Botánico Quito in northern Ecuador’s Parque Carolina has a wide collection of tropical bromeliads, ferns, and fuchsias.
A visit to the 52-acre public garden (with its original 32 acres designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm in 1910) is “an immersive experience, a botanical escape from the city that presses on its edges. In late April and May the green blood of spring is racing through the garden, bringing life to a diverse collection of plants,” writes our contributor Marie Viljoen. See more at Insider’s Tour: Secrets of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
OK, this is not technically “a garden.” More accurately, this island is a respite. Aptly described as a “land that time forgot, stuck in the 1960s” in the New York Times, the island is reached by a 10-minute ride by boat from Singapore’s concrete and glitz. Plan to take a day trip, rent a bike on the island, and explore: “From Ubin’s jetty, reached by bare-bones wooden vessels called bumboats, and tiny main village, a few paved roads fan out to coastal campsites, dirt paths, lotus ponds or beautiful wetlands. The most striking constant is the lack of noise,” notes the Times.
Visit: For more information including boat fare and guidelines for bicycle use on the island, see Singapore’s National Parks Board.
14. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew: London
Where to start to describe the wonders? “As the world’s most famous botanical garden, Kew is an awe-inspiring place to visit with vast glasshouses and incredible collections. It oversees the biggest and most diverse collection of plants on the planet,” writes our contributor Clare Coulson. See more in 10 Ideas to Steal from the World’s Biggest Botanical Garden.
Visit: For hours, admissions prices, and directions, see Kew.
15. Lambley Nursery: Victoria, Australia
After gardener David Glenn grew up in the flower-friendly mild climate of England, he decamped nearly three decades to a windswept plain two hours away from Melbourne, Australia. What choice did he have, here on the world’s driest inhabited continent, but to experiment with low-water plants? These days his spectacular dry gardens at Lambley Gardens and Nursery need to be watered deeply no more than four times a year and are open to the public every day (except Christmas). Garden lovers from around the world make pilgrimages to see the riotous perennial beds. Flowers border the 130-foot driveway, welcoming visitors as they arrive at the front gate of the 19th-century farmhouse. Read more in A Garden You Water Four Times a Year.
Visit: Lambley Nursery ships plants overseas; if you visit in person, entry is free, For hours and driving directions, see Lambley Nursery.
16. Maxmilianpark: Hamm, Germany
Maximilianpark was formerly a coal mine, now transformed into gardens, play spaces, and a sanctuary for pollinators. It’s a great place to study designer Oudolf ‘s planting techniques: he designed the park’s wildflower meadow. See more in Landscape Ideas: 8 Favorite Gardens by Dutch Designer Piet Oudolf.
Wang Shi Yuan, or the Master of the Nets garden, in Suzhou (about 60 miles from Shanghai) is one of the city’s 60 Ming and Qing dynasty gardens and is 800 years old. A classic example of a traditional pleasure garden, the 1.5-acre grounds are divided into three sections, with an eastern, western, and main garden. The garden’s fortunes rose and fell with its owners’ over the centuries, with a major restoration undertaken in the 19th century.
“Just as the garden in China has been the site of quite extraordinary expenditures of resources by scholar, rich merchant, and emperor alike down through the ages, the garden has also occasioned, on the part of China’s scholar-gentry elite, an equally remarkably rich tradition of literary and artistic representations of the gardens, both real and imaginary,” writes Duncan Campbell in the New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies.
A beautiful garden to visit in any season with 250 acres and a collection of more than 12,000 plants, New York Botanical Garden is particularly irresistible in winter, with an annual Orchid Show in its soaring glasshouse, the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. This year’s theme? “A dazzling tribute to Singapore—one of the world’s greatest orchid cultures—where these storied flowers are an integral part of the life of this vibrant ‘City in a Garden,”” notes NYBG.
“When people think about Israel, they don’t typically imagine gardens—usually there’s more of an association with a hot middle eastern climate and multiform geopolitical issues,” writes Daisy Helman in Garden Collage Magazine. “These assumptions are common, but when I think about Israel, I think about the desert, the mountains, the ocean, and the beach.” In Haifa, a staircase of 19 terraces leads to the top of Mount Carmel, with “panoramic views of the city, the Galilee Hills and the Mediterranean Sea.” notes Bahá’í Gardens.
Visit: For walk-in tour hours, current weather conditions, and other information, see Bahá’í Gardens.
20. The National Garden: Athens, Greece
Built as the palace gardens in the mid 19th century by Queen Amalia (“and her German gardener Schmidt,” the national gardens site reports), this park in Athens was Henry Miller’s favorite: “It remains in my memory like no other park I have known. It is the quintessence of a park, the thing one feels sometimes in looking at a canvas or dreaming of a place one would like to be in and never finds.” The 37-acre oasis in the center of the city is home to ducks, turtles, and hedgehogs as well as date palms and 500 other varieties of plants.
Visit: For information and a map of the grounds, see City of Athens.
21. Longwood Gardens, Chester County, Pennsylvania
Open year-round, the 1,077-acre estate of industrialist Pierre du Pont “followed no grand plan; rather, he built the gardens piecemeal, beginning with the “old-fashioned” Flower Garden Walk,” notes Longwood Gardens. Today the grounds feature formal gardens, a meadow garden, a Tuscan-style open-air theater, and glasshouses (an annual winter orchid kicks off in January.
Visit: For tickets, reservations, and visiting tips, see Longwood Gardens.
22. Bryan’s Ground: Herefordshire, England
“The house and gardens at Bryan’s Ground in Herefordshire were put together by artistic people at the beginning of the 20th century. Howard’s End author E.M. Forster might have dreamed up the setting with its wisteria-draped loggia, sunken garden, and skating pool, and yet the space is ever-evolving,” writes our contributor Kendra Wilson. See more of the garden in Bryan’s Ground: Bloomsbury Revisited, on the Edge of Wales.
Visit: For open days, hours, and admission prices, see Bryan’s Ground.
23. The High Line: New York, New York
There’s something undeniably magical about viewing Manhattan from the 1,5-mile long elevated High Line park that transformed rusted, run-rundown railroad tracks into a magical walkway, with perennial beds and wildflowers designed by Dutch master Piet Oudolf. Native plants attract birds and bees in warmer months, and the views are spectacular year-round. (When you visit, bring a guide. High Line: A Field Guide, created by artist Mike Dion, is a beautifully illustrated pocket-size companion.)
Visit: The park, which stretches from the Meatpacking District to Midtown in Manhattan, is open from dawn to dusk; for information and access points, see The High Line.
24. Isola Bella Gardens: Lago Maggiore, Italy
Our translation of “isola bella” is oh-so-beautiful island. In Italy’s northern Lake District, the island’s castle and sprawling terraced gardens (which date to the 17th century) are reached by boat. “It took four hundred years and the work of a hundred men to transform Isola Bella from a barren rock to a place of delights,” notes Isole Borromee. Statues, fountains, parterres: this is a basic introduction to the Italianate baroque style of garden. If you visit, say hello to the white peacocks for us.
Visit: For hours, admission, and information about boat transportation, see Visiting the Place.
25. Little Sparta: Dunsyre, Scotland
The poet and his wife, Sue, arrived at the five-acre property after buying it in 1966 and immediately became laying out waterways to create ponds and lochs. “Spread out in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh, the garden at Little Sparta was created by artist and poet Ian Hamilton Finlay over decades, with his wife Sue. Simply put, It is one of the greatest works of art created in Scotland,” writes our UK contributor Kendra Wilson. See more in The Poet and His Garden: Ian Hamilton Finlay in Scotland.
Visit: The garden is open in warm months, “respecting Finlay’s intention that the garden should be experienced when the trees and plants, all integral to the artwork, are in full leaf.,” notes Little Sparta, which has information on hours and open days.
Read about 75 more gardens to see before you die in our Garden Travel Guides, including:
“No thorns go as deep as a rose’s,” observed the 19th-century English poet Algernon Swinburne. Would that Swinburne had lived to witness the invention of these invincible Leather Rose Gloves.
From Florida-based Garden Works and sewn from “100 percent cow grain leather,” the stylish gauntlet gloves will fully protect a gardener’s forearms while pruning roses. And perhaps keep you warm as well—the best time to prune is in winter, when roses are dormant.
“We love thorny things, but they don’t always love us back. We use these soft yet tough leather gloves to handle our flowers-with-teeth. Forearm gauntlet sleeves provide full protection,” notes Thompson.
Raise your hand if you either once thought or currently think that annuals are plants that bloom every year. (Go ahead, there’s no shame or judgment here.) Makes sense that you would assume that, as the definition of “annual” is literally “yearly.” But, of course, annuals do not come back year after year. The plants that do are called perennials. That must mean then that annuals are the plants that can live for just a year, right? Not quite. Read on.
It’s accurate to say that annuals are flowering plants that die shortly after blooming and need to be replanted every spring. But guess what? The vast majority of annuals sold in stores and nurseries aren’t true annuals. True annual plants have a life cycle of one year—germinating from seed, blooming, producing seed, and dying all in a single growing season.
Some examples of true annuals are cosmos, marigolds, and sunflowers. Many of the annuals sold at stores, though—think snapdragons, pansies, petunias, begonias, geraniums, and impatiens—are actually tender perennials, frost-sensitive plants that are native to warmer climates, where they come back year after year. But because they’re being grown in less than temperate regions, they act (and are treated like) annuals. (For more on a third type of flowering plant, see The Garden Decoder: What Are ‘Biennials’?)
What about “hardy annuals”?
Annuals are sometimes further classified as “hardy,” “half-hardy,” and “tender” (not to be confused with tender perennials). These terms simply refer to an annual’s tolerance to frost. Hardy annuals can tolerate cold weather and soil; this means they can be planted in early spring and, if left to winter in the garden, may self-seed. Half-hardy annuals can be planted after the last frost. And tender annuals should be planted only once the soil warms up.
Why grow annuals?
The downside of annuals is that you have to replant them every spring. That’s a major downside. Why bother planting annuals at all? Well, unlike perennials, which may bloom (at most) for just a few weeks, annuals can bloom all summer long, especially if you deadhead the flowers. Annuals also tend to have more vibrant colors. And last, they tend to be less expensive than perennials.
Japanese Bloodgrass, Imperata cylindrica: A Study in Scarlet
Striking, fiery, and red are probably not the words that come to mind when you think of perennial grass. But this is exactly what you get with Japanese bloodgrass. Its highly ornamental foliage deepens in color over the course of a growing season, from a pink tinge in spring to show-stopping scarlet in autumn.
But be careful when adding Imperata cylindrica to your garden—and make sure you buy the red variety to avoid adding an invasive species to your landscape. And remember, this distinctive grass is not for the timid gardener. You must love red and you must appreciate plants that are eye-catching and brazen.
Read on to learn if Japanese bloodgrass is right for your garden:
Native to Japan, Japanese bloodgrass has earned a bad reputation in some circle because of invasiveness. Let’s clear the air: the red variety is not the problem. Green-leafed Imperata cylindrica is the problem. The green species is an extremely invasive weed, and so much that it has been banned or quarantined in some southern US states. The problem arises in warmer regions, where the grass spreads rampantly through rhizomes and self-seeding and bullies other species. Reportedly, it is less aggressive in cooler climates and when not allowed to revert back to green.
The red-leaved variety which is considered non-invasive typically is sold under the names ‘Red Baron’ or ‘Rubra’. The highly decorative foliage of Japanese bloodgrass grows up to 2 feet high and wide with s slightly red-tinged and bright green blades in springtime. The color on the top of the foliage intensifies to a brilliant cranberry-red before deepening to crimson in the fall before going dormant in winter months.
Japanese bloodgrass is a cool-season, low-maintenance grass with few pests or problems. The biggest issue is when the plant is sited incorrectly. It prefers cool, moist, and sunny locations and tends to revert to green and exhibit invasive tendencies in full shade, which makes it a potential hazard to other plants.
Tip: Watch for green reversions and remove immediately. If you are concerned, you can always plant Japanese bloodgrass in a container and be equally as happy.
Cheat Sheet
Whether used as a border, ground cover or edging plant, Japanese bloodgrass will thrive. Also suitable for containers.
Japanese bloodgrass attracts butterflies but thankfully not deer.
Repeat clumps of grasses to draw your eye forward through a bed and provide a sense of rhythm and continuity. Or plant in groups to produce a sweeping effect.
Near translucent red foliage, Japanese bloodgrass can be especially attractive in the landscape (especially when backlit by early morning or late afternoon sun).
I. cylindrica is a good companion plant for other upright perennials such as black-eyed Susan or orange Echinacea.
Keep It Alive
Plant Japanese bloodgrass in full sun for the most vibrant color.
Moist but well-draining soil is needed to avoid root rot.
Established plants can tolerate less water, but for the best appearance water weekly. Tip: Reduce water during its dormant winter period.
Avoid cutting back Japanese bloodgrass until early spring (before new growth begins). At that time, cut back bloodgrass to the ground or simply give it a haircut to remove winter damage.
Zoysia did not become a favorite turf for golf courses by accident. This sturdy, creeping grass is drought tolerant, will control erosion on slopes, and grows thickly enough to prevent weeds from taking hold. Enough to make you wonder why everyone doesn’t have a fairway for a front lawn, isn’t it?
Not so fast. Zoysia has its drawbacks too, the most glaring being that the perennial grass goes dormant in cool weather (in autumn, your grass could turn brown pretty fast after temperatures dip). So while zoysia will survive in USDA growing zones 5 to 11, it’s actually an ideal choice only in warmer states (think: Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and other southern climes where temperatures of 80 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit are common during several months of the year).
Is zoysia a good lawn alternative to try in your landscape? Read on for the pros and cons:
Native to warmer climates—zoysia is a favorite turf grass in Australia, where its low-water personality is particularly prized—zoysia is particularly happy in tropical settings. Among the most widely planted species is Zoysia japonica, which is shade tolerant and has coarse blades. Slow-growing Zoysia matrella, which has slender blades, has a prostrate growing habit and is native to Manila.
Some varieties of zoysia grow in clumps: look for plants or seeds labeled Zoysia tenuifolia. “Due to its slow growth habit and its puffy appearance, it is usually used as an ornamental specimen plant in Asian themed gardens,” notes Clemson University Cooperative Extension.
Cheat Sheet
Like other warm-season grasses such as Bermuda and St. Augustine, zoysia will turn brown in cold-weather months. So although it can survive the winters in southern New England, it will look green only in late spring and summer.
In colder climates, a better choice for turf is a cool-season grass. Consider fescues, Kentucky bluegrass or perennial rye varieties.
A vigorous creeper, zoysia will sneak into adjacent flower beds if given the option. Landscape edging is recommended to make it behave.
Keep It Alive
If grown as turf grass, zoysia should be mowed weekly. But it “can be difficult to mow due to its thickness and leaf composition. Zoysia grass should be mowed as low as possible, but not so low scalping occurs,” notes Clemson University Cooperative Extension. “A reel type mower is recommended, but a rotary mower can be used if the blades are sharpened on a regular basis and the cutting height is set at 2 inches.”
If planting seed, start sprinkle zoysia grass in late spring and rake lightly to cover seed with a light layer of soil.
If planted in plugs, zoysia grass will spread and develop a dense root structure to choke out weeds.
Fertilize zoysia two or three times a season when it is green (and actively growing).
Everyone tries to stay on budget during a remodel, and sometimes one splurge is all it takes for results that look luxe. This week the Remodelista editors five interior design ideas to add a touch of glamour:
“In our book, expense alone does not merit quality” when it comes to shopping for a sofa, writes Alexa. She rounds up “our most-dreamed-of luxury sofas” in this week’s 10 Easy Pieces post.
Michelle is currently coveting a brass rain gauge (to measure just how much her Mill Valley, California garden got in this week’s deluge).
And Julie’s favorite Munder Skiles collection (“beautifully proportioned, graceful garden and outdoor furniture; it’s expensive, but it will last forever”) has a new look online.
Who couldn’t use a little more more green space. No matter how big or small, there’s room for a container garden, a hardy indoor houseplants, or a a mossy moment. This week we’ll explore ways to maximize a landscape’s potential:
Coming this week:
Before & After: How perennial grasses rescued a family garden in London
10 (or more) hardware store finds to save you money in the garden
Everything you need to know about planting potatoes
Your First Garden: Fan finds no-fail plants for a container garden
Imagine a blank canvas: a large garden in a southeastern suburb of London, with one more than one-third of an acre of land (measuring about 1,500 square meters). There was nothing to incorporate into a new design except for two mature maple trees, an existing swimming pool, and a small summer house.
Enter garden designers Farlam & Chandler. Their plan? “To create a family garden, offering an outdoor living experience for both day and night use, throughout the year,” said creative director Harriet Farlam. “Flexible areas for the whole family were to be created, providing outdoor ‘rooms’ softened with lots of planting, with year-round interest.”
With the judicial use of perennial grasses, the garden looks particularly lovely in late autumn and early winter when foliage turns golden and the landscape takes on a burnished bronze tint.
Behind the grasses and beyond the pleached trees is the swimming pool.
“The architecture of the house has been transferred directly to the outdoor space, informing the structure of the garden.” said Farlam. “Two generous terraces flow from the inside out to create separate spaces for both dining and relaxing close to the house.”
Visible on the far patio in the background is a sofa from Expormim’s Livit collection, which includes sofas and chaises in several sizes and can be configured as a sectional, as well.
“The client was keen to dress the terraces in a similar way to how the internal rooms were decorated and we carefully selected suitable furniture and cushions,” said Farlam. “Each piece has its own character, for each area of the garden. These finishing elements make the garden feel soft, welcoming, and are left outside all year round to give an extended sense of outdoor living.”
Made of peeled and tinted natural rattan, a Nautica Swing Chair from Expormim has an aluminum tube base.
“Planters as sculpture” is how Remodelista editor Julie Carlson describes Atelier Vierkant’s handmade clay vessels. Read more in Artful Planters from Belgium.
Lyme grass is the rare plant that can be described as “aggressive” and still be useful in a garden setting. Of course, you have to choose it to play a specific role in a thoughtful landscape design, and plant it in the right environment.
If you’re not sure this vigorous semi-evergreen grass is right for you and your garden, please keep reading to learn more.
Formerly known as Elymus glaucus, lyme grass also has many other names including sea lyme grass, blue lyme grass, and sand wild rye. Native to northern Europe, this 2-to-3-foot-tall grass has incredibly beautiful steel-blue, arching foliage. In the summer, sturdy narrow blue-gray flower spikes shoot up. Later in the season, they turn tawny.
The downside? This densely tufted clumping grass spreads aggressively by rhizomes and can be a total nuisance in the wrong setting.
So the question remains, how do you use lyme grass smartly? Specific situations that may call for lyme grass include: erosion control, to stabilize sand dunes, or as a wide-spreading, fast-growing ground cover in sunny areas. (Of course, Leymus arenarius is also welcome in planters and containers where its wily nature can be corralled. Tip: This grass tends to be less pesky in dry, clay soils.
The variety ‘Blue Dune’ has equally as dramatic steel-blue foliage and also produces wheat-colored summer plumes. ‘Blue Dune’ spreads quickly by rhizomes but is useful for stabilizing steep slopes or filling a large sunny to partly sunny area very quickly. Space 2-3′ apart as a ground cover, or closer for quicker coverage.
Cheat Sheet
Lyme grass is salt-, heat- and very drought-tolerant.
The flowers of lyme grass attract butterflies but the foliage is deer- and rabbit-resistant.
Foliage of lyme grass is great in floral arrangements.
This cool-season grass produces year-round interest where it remains evergreen in mild winter areas, including in USDA growing zones 3 to 9).
Keep this grass out of perennial beds and instead think of massing it in large areas that need a ground cover, on sand dunes, or in containers.
Keep It Alive
Lyme grass tolerates a wide range of soils from wet to dry.
Plant this ornamental grass in full sun to part shade.
Cut back or mow the foliage to the ground in the fall.
Divide clumps of lyme grass from mid-spring to early fall.
Is there any home accessory trendier than a Monstera? Maybe a ZZ plant. Our collective obsession with houseplants has reached the point where many people would rather live without a sofa than indoor foliage.
Houseplant fever is great…until it’s not. Who among us has not killed a living, leafed thing? With the huge selection of affordable potted plants—from Aloe Vera at Ikea to Miniature Palm Trees at Home Depot—it’s more tempting than it’s ever been to experiment with exotic species. But remember: the first rule of having a houseplant is that it would rather be living outdoors in its native environment. We’re asking a lot of out potted friends by forcing them indoors where humidity levels are low, sunlight is limited, and there’s no rain.
There’s so much to learn about houseplants. So much we need to know to keep them alive, and thriving. So many secrets they would tell us if they could talk. Here’s help, 10 things nobody tells you about houseplants:
1. The easiest trendy houseplant to grow? It may be ZZ plant.
A ZZ plant is one of the easiest houseplants to grow because it “tolerates neglect, is drought-tolerant, and accepts low-light conditions without throwing a fit,” writes our contributor Kier Holmes. “Its waxy, smooth leaves reflect sunlight and brighten rooms.” By the way, “ZZ” earned its nickname honestly: it’s a lot easier than calling it Zamioculcas zamiifolia.
A single specimen plant—a magnificent Monstera, for instance, or a trailing vine—may be all you need. If you do go for the jungle effect, avoid making your home look like a 1970s-era time capsule by grouping plants into vignettes that tell a story. An arrangement of three to five houseplants on a side table will look sculptural. Vary heights and foliage texture for visual impact.
3. Some trendy houseplants will not survive in your home.
It’s no accident if your trendy houseplant died. Growing conditions may not be right in your home. Do you have enough sun? Or too much sun? Succulents, for instance, can be very finicky—especially the varieties with gray, blue, or purplish leaves. (See Everything You Need to Know About Succulents to find the best houseplants for your home.)
Some plants (hello, potted lemon tree) need more humidity than is typically in the air indoors. A fiddle leaf fig tree will turn brown for practically any reason—if it gets too much water, too little water, too much sun, too little sun, or if it doesn’t like the look of your houseguests. We could go on and on.
4. You should get a non-trendy houseplant. Right now.
The reason you should add a non-trendy houseplant or two to your collection is so you will have something green after the trendy houseplants die. It won’t be so depressing because your mother-in-law’s tongue (also known as snake plant) and pothos will still be going strong.
5. Stop trying to convince yourself that you don’t live in a low-light apartment.
Just stop. You’re not fooling anyone (especially the houseplants). Unless there is nothing blocking the sun from hitting your houseplants—”no curtains, no shades, no trees, no tall buildings“—you do not have bright light.
If the light “moves” across your apartment in the course of the day, if your plants are placed several feet from a window, if you have any sort of curtain or shade or blind, or if your window looks out onto an airshaft, you probably have low-light conditions. The good news? You can still have hardy houseplants. Shop this list: Best Houseplants: 9 Indoor Plants for Low Light.
6. You can raise humidity levels without buying a humidifier.
No need to spend money on a machine. To raise humidity levels in your air, put a saucer of water on the radiator. As it evaporates, you will be adding moisture to the atmosphere around it—and making all your indoor tropical plants much happier.
Yes, Phalaenopsis (moth orchid) has earned its reputation for being easy to grow. But did you know that other orchids, including Lady’s Slipper and Oncidiums, can be happy companions to the rest of of your houseplants? Read more about it at Best Indoor Plants: 6 Flowering Orchids to Grow.
8. You can’t put all houseplants on the same watering schedule.
It is too bad, because it’s more work for you to check each individual plant (stick your finger into the soil to see if the top inch is dry) before deciding whether to water it. But it’s much better for your houseplants—not everything needs to be watered as often as every week. On the other hand some thirsty plants, such as countertop herbs, may need water more often than once a week.
9. Houseplants have peak seasons, just like outdoor garden plants.
Many houseplants have a dormant season in winter, when temperatures are cool and there are fewer hours of light. Your indoor don’t exactly suffer from seasonal affective disorder, but they definitely slow down. When houseplants go dormant, you will notice they aren’t producing new foliage, aren’t getting bigger, and may be shedding old leaves. During dormancy, cut back on water (give them half as much), stop fertilizing houseplants, and protect them from sudden temperature changes (keep them away from drafts and heater vents that blast hot air).
10. Your trendy houseplant may be toxic to your pet.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Animal Poison Control Center publishes a list of Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants. Not all parts of toxic houseplants will kill a pet: “According the to ASPCA, chemical compounds that are toxic to pets can be concentrated in different parts of the plant–sometimes the roots, sometimes leaves, flowers, or seeds,” writes Meredith.