This week: Artful gardens
Hello! This weekend I visited the gardens at Hillwood Estate in Washington, D.C. where they have acres of traditional gardens, from a 17th century inspired...
This week: Pollinators love Liatris
Hi again! This weekend I went on the Highland Park Garden Tour. The highlight was Choderwood, a riverfront garden getaway with chickens and ducks and a lot...
This week: Understand sun or shade when buying plants
Happy Independence Day (Observed)! Perhaps you’re spending your day off in the garden—there’s a lot to do, whether it’s enjoying the setting or other equally...
This week: Plant butterfly milkweed, not butterfly bush
Hello again! This weekend I stumbled on some Belgian block cobblestones on Craigslist and happily purchased them to complete my garden edging. It’s a relief...
This week: Redbud trees and and their bees
Hello! I was focused on my garden decor this week. After making a Wave Hill chair a few years at ago at a workshop, I set about building a second one. The...
This week: Hydrangeas for everyone!
Hi there! Do you love hydrangeas, but feel torn because you want more natives in your landscape? Never fear, native hydrangeas are here! There are two North...
This week: Clematis blooms + ways to use it
Good day! I’m pleased to announce that my clematis is blooming. I planted it before I kept track of what I planted, so I have no idea what variety it is,...
This week: Sweetbay Magnolia blooms + planting in threes
Hi there! This week in “what’s happening in Julie’s garden,” the Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) is in bloom. This native beauty is a small shrubby...
This week: Baptisia and native cultivars
Hello! This week in the garden, my Baptisia australis is blooming. Commonly known as false indigo, this blueish purple native is a great pick for pollinators...
This week: saving oaks and planting sweet alyssum
Welcome to this week's email! This afternoon I pulled a baby oak out of my garden. After watching Doug Tallamy’s talk about oaks (linked in last week’s...
This week: The easiest cut flower to grow
Hello there! The 10-day forecast for Pittsburgh looks nearly frost-free, so this weekend (or next) I’ll begin sowing seeds in my raised beds for a cut flower...
This week: Meet Amsonia, an early native bloomer
Welcome to May! We’re just a week or two from the last frost of the year. The tulips are in decline, but my allium are about to bloom and provide color all...
This week: coming to terms with ferns
Hi there! A lot happened in the garden this week. Not only did I finally get around to starting flower seeds for my cutting garden (teddy bear sunflowers and...
This week: properly prune trees and shrubs
Hi again! Trees and shrubs are budding and leafing out! While admiring their beauty, you may have noticed some dead branches here and there, and you may be...
This week: purple coneflowers from scratch
Hi there! The great weather continued this week despite a few spring showers. In my front yard, the redbud tree is blossoming and every day there are new...
This week: milk jug greenhouses revealed
Greetings! From having beautiful spring temperatures in the 60s to having snow on April 1, it has been quite a week in the garden. Earlier this winter, I...