At American Beauties they define natives as straight species and their cultivars, with cultivars being selections of straight species that have not been hybridized with other species. That may sound like an easy question to answer but it isn’t. There are almost as many different definitions as people you ask. Our environment is an extremely […]

Canning is a method used to preserve fresh food in jars using high temperatures to kill microorganisms and inactivate enzymes that could cause food to spoil. The heating process pushes air from the jars, creating a vacuum seal as jars cool. Without air, the bacteria, yeast and mold will not grow and food won’t spoil. […]

Ah, August in the garden! My cutting garden is exploding with color! Thirteen varieties of zinnias, celosia, marigolds, tithonia, salvia, statice, strawflower (trying a 2023 introduction) gladiolas and scaevola (fan flower). Twenty-five experimental containers (flowers are 2023 introductions) adorn the deck and pool area, and containers of eggplant provide the main ingredient for my special […]

Deadheading is a gardening task that must be done regularly throughout the growing season. Deadheading is nothing more than the removal of dead or spent flowers from living plants. It’s good for your plants and means more flowers for you. Benefits of Deadheading There are four main reasons to include deadheading as part of your […]

What does it mean to have an organic garden? Does organic gardening mean you have to put up with insects eating your plants or unattractive flower beds? The short answer is that organic gardening means not using synthetic products, including pesticides and fertilizers. Ideally, organic gardening replenishes the resources as it makes use of them. […]

For many, particularly northern Europeans, the summer solstice means midsummer celebrations: feasting on early harvests, gathering around bonfires, dancing, singing and games. It’s a beautiful time of year with flowers blooming everywhere, fireflies lighting up the night and cute speckled fawns hiding in the brush. And for gardeners in the northern hemisphere, indeed, there is […]