ArcaMax

People like to give plants as gifts for birthdays, when a baby is born or for funerals. Very often an entire basket of plants is given. Did you get a basket of plants for Christmas?

Usually, all of the plants in the basket are houseplants that need the same amount of sunlight, the same temperatures and the same amount of water in the soil. They...Read more

This time of the year, I always look forward to the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year. Last year it was Peach Fuzz and the year before it was Viva Magenta. I’ve always liked to try to join in and pick out flowers, to show that we are part of the team, a Pantone Partner if you will. Drum roll please: For 2025 the Pantone Color of ...Read more

Six-months ago I wrote a column introducing you to the Art & Sol collection of mangaves, which was having a soft release with a full debut occurring in 2025. If you are not familiar with mangave, it is a cross between the agave and a plant called the manfreda, both native to the Southwest.

The taxonomic hierarchy has recently determined that ...Read more

We are down to the last week of shopping for Christmas presents. I have a few last-minute gift ideas that you can still get by shopping locally.

Create a basic gardener's gift package and add more items as you find them. Start with a pair of gardening gloves, as gardeners are always looking for a dry and clean pair. A useful tool is a small ...Read more

A few years ago, I wrote a column on the keys to the winter landscape being Bones, Berries and Bark. The bones of course are evergreen plants, berries are like nature’s winter baubles, and bark is typically associated with trees that create a "look at me" moment by virtue of their wood. So, when I had the opportunity to try some Berry Box ...Read more

Sticking with last week's theme of books that are good for gardeners, here are a few more.

A lot of people are moving to the Southwest from Northern states. Gardening is different down there, to say the least. I visited family in Arizona this year, so I bought "Dry Climate Gardening" by Noelle Johnson. It is a great read and reference for ...Read more

As we head into December, we start to glance to the future, to the award-winning flowers for 2025. This is always a terrific choice for your garden dollar, whether you are looking toward the landscape, porch, patio or deck. One such award winner is Supertunia Mini Vista Yellow, Proven Winners 2025 Annual of the Year.

The Mini Vista petunias ...Read more

Are you an aging-in-place gardener? You know the type -- people like my 91-year-old mother who is still growing tomatoes and other vegetables, summer flower pots on the porch, and houseplants galore. She is not quite as active as she used to be, and she has downsized some of the garden.

Or are you a gardener who is getting arthritis? My ...Read more

You know, sometimes the internet is just not the best place to get information (in spite of the fact that you might be reading this article on the internet). Actual, real books written by actual, real expert people with real experience in real life (not just a bunch of clicks) can be at your beck and call 24/7 sitting right next to you on your ...Read more

The Garden Guy has been part of a lot of coleus trials over the years, but I don’t remember seeing one like ColorBlaze Mini Me Chartreuse, which will be making its debut in 2025. I gave it casual mention in a column recently, but I am certain it deserves its own column. Hopefully you will see why.

First off it is an electrifying color of ...Read more

When its mid-November and your geraniums are still electrifying on the porch or patio you know you are talking about one of the Boldly varieties. Boldly Coral made its debut in 2022 and as such I had the opportunity to trial it in 2021. Since then it has been my go-to geranium because of its dazzling color and incredible longevity.

Boldly Coral...Read more

Q: It looks like winter is coming next week, and I need to get some ice-melting granules. My area gets a few ice storms each winter. We get a little snow too, but that usually melts off quickly. My concern is getting rid of the ice. I was told that I could use lawn fertilizer to melt the ice and it would then fertilize the grass nest to the ...Read more

Awards for plants come in a variety of names: Louisiana Super Plant, Mississippi Medallion, as an example, and in Georgia where I live, it is the Classic City Award given out by the University of Georgia. The UGA Trial Gardens said in a press release that the winners represent the best overall in the gardens and were ranked on a scale of one to ...Read more

Q: I have tried growing amaryllis bulbs, and they seem to grow smaller each year. I buy a big bulb that has two or even three flower stalks with four or five flowers on each one. Then the next year, it will grow only one flower stalk and two or three flowers. I see the bulbs are again available in the stores. I want to try again, but what am I ...Read more

Pinky Winky has gone Prime! One of my all-time favorite hydrangea paniculata varieties, Pinky Winky is now being offered as Prime. This means you can now choose Pinky Winky or Pinky Winky Prime hydrangea for your landscape or pollinator habitat, as I will explain.

Your first question is what the difference is, and that would be size. It is ...Read more

Q: I have three potted mums on my porch. The flowers are fading, and I am wondering what to do with them next. They were expensive, and I would like to keep them until next year. I have a place in the back of my vegetable garden where I could bury the pots until next spring. What do I do with them in the spring?

A: Some potted mums are not ...Read more

The Temple of Bloom is like the tree of life to everyone who gardens for pollinators. It is a more compact form of Seven-Sons Flower known botanically as Heptacodium micronioides. The Temple of Bloom’s native habitat is China where its wild populations are under threat of extinction.

If you live in zones 5a to 9b however, and you are looking ...Read more

Q: I have a neighbor who says she gets a better "pumpkin" pie by using butternut squash. My squash vines grew a lot of fruit this year, and I was planning on storing some for the winter. I have had trouble getting pumpkins to grow in my garden, but the squash almost always produce a lot. If she is right, I may stop trying to grow pumpkins and ...Read more

ATLANTA — Atlanta has landed a new NBC drama series “Grosse Pointe Garden Society,” which begins production Nov. 6.

According to a note provided to members of the IATSE 479 union, the series will be shot at Assembly Studios in Doraville. A 12-episode pick up is scheduled to shoot through early April and is set to debut mid-season in ...Read more

The Unplugged salvia group is growing to four in 2025 and that can be your start to an epic red, white and blue garden. There is also an Unplugged Pink that has 26 awards in the trophy case. Unplugged So Blue and Unplugged Pink have won a whopping 63 awards in what seems to be just a couple of years. Plus, what I am seeing in my own garden makes...Read more