It’s planting season for many and verbenas are high on the list. We had just fallen in love with Superbena Imperial Blue verbena and piled on a bunch of awards then, stop the presses! It has a new name, which is now Superbena Cobalt. Not sure if this would be similar to Shakespeare’s "what’s in a name" scenario, but one thing is for ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- At the top of a roller-coaster hill in Highland Park, Thomas Zamora and his husband, Raul Rojas, enjoy two spectacular views — of the Pasadena hills to the east and of the meandering expanse of native plants, succulents and vegetables in a backyard that once was nothing but dirt and junk cars.

It's been an evolution of nearly a...Read more

The early spring, at least in the South, has everyone drooling for new plants. The supply chain from producer to garden center somehow pulled off a miracle and the supply has never looked better. The Garden Guy wants to urge everyone to also incorporate those flowers that will still be rocking come the hottest days of summer, which is usually ...Read more

The world seems to have a fascination with volcanoes and even more so with lava flow. We’ve got volcano lava cookware, lava salt lamps, lava rock mulch. Some of my favorite glazed pottery designs are called lava flow as they mimic molten lava spilling over the rim. Then The Garden Guy does a Facebook post with what looks like lime green lava ...Read more

The National Garden Bureau has selected several plants under their "year of" program. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the Year of the Angelonia, their chosen annual. In their choice for the shrub designate, the National Garden Bureau has gone where few have dared to tread, the Year of the Buddleia. I could not be more thrilled!

No plant ...Read more

The past couple of weeks gardeners have been writing to me asking for ideas for colorful combinations in baskets, window boxes and containers for shady environments. I like to quip back in humor and ask how they would like a rose? Everyone would, of course, except for the thorns, but the rose I am talking about is for the shade, has no thorns ...Read more

The Garden Guy sees a lot of needless garden stress when it comes to choosing plant partners for your containers. After watching the excitement that Andrea Owens Schnapp created with a shared photo on my Facebook page the answer to this stress may just be to go mono-a-mono.

Obviously, I am taking a gardener approach to mono-a-mono, but Andrea ...Read more

The National Garden Bureau has designated 2024 as the "Year of the Angelonia" and I am in full celebration mode. As I was preparing for my contribution to the celebration, I was however sent into taxonomic trauma.

For the last 26 years of deep love for the angelonia, or summer snapdragon, I have told everyone via newspaper, radio and TV that ...Read more

The excitement for spring planting is building at a feverish pitch and many are wondering what they can do to add more pop to the landscape. The answer just may be ColorBlaze coleus, and I am not just talking a dab.

A dab is precisely how many of you have looked at coleus. One little coleus here should do just fine. This prevalent thinking ...Read more

Superbells Coral Sun made its debut in 2020 and has been racking up awards from north to south. By that I mean Top Performer from Michigan State to Mississippi State and you can add Perfect Score at University of Tennessee and Director’s Select at Penn State. Now that I have grown it for a few years, The Garden Guy can give it a "Holy wow" too...Read more

The last 13-14 months of weather turned me into "The Gardening Curmudgeon." Truth be told, my garden was the most beautiful ever, and I’m not tossing blue sky to you. Well maybe I am to a point, but I’ll explain. A Polar Vortex after a mild fall in 2022 followed by a late freeze after leaf emergence took a toll on buds of many blooming ...Read more

As I watch comments on my Facebook page, there is something about this winter that has everyone counting the days until spring. I know I have seen at least two countdown clocks, marking the hours and minutes. When I post a photo that shows any color of blue, particularly in combination with orange, you can feel the moaning stretching across ...Read more

There is a new verbena coming this spring that is like "Cashmere for Swallowtails," plus its beauty and garden charm will sweep you off your feet. It’s called Superbena Pink Cashmere and the excitement it is creating has most of us counting the days until spring.

I wrote about Superbena Pink Cashmere around seven months ago as The Garden Guy,...Read more

By the time you read this The Garden Guy will be smack in the middle of the Arctic blast. How can this be? I'm still having drought nightmares. Such is the dilemma we face as gardeners, garden gurus and garden guys. Planning, however, is one thing we can do once we’ve protected the plants the best we can. So, I’m thinking Mojave, and while I...Read more