With the kokoro gardens' many guides to the culture of different flowers and plants, home gardeners will find plenty of useful information, as will those working in a more professional vein. Particularly striking are their creations centered on dahlias, a luscious blooming beauty that should be on your radar if you're looking for some big mid-summer through fall color impact or to add bold blooms to your cutting garden.

Roses are certainly one of the most beloved garden plants. For many, their beauty and fragrance outweighs whatever difficulties their culture presents. Plus, they are versatile in the garden--depending on the variety they can be grown either as groundcovers, shrubs, or trained to a trellis or structure. Many gardeners now opt for "Knockout" roses--even though their fragrance is minimal and the colors limited. Don't get me wrong--I'm not "knocking" them. They're a great solution when a long-blooming shrub is needed and understandably popular. It's just that landscapers have overused them to the point that they're like Starbucks--one on every corner, just like yellow and blue pansies in the fall. My eyeballs ache for a little visual diversity. But roses have so much more to offer--you might want to take a look at some other choices, and consider the effect that a stunning rose grown on a fabulous trellis or arbor might have in your garden.

Spring seemed to come late this year, with cool temperatures holding on in many areas of the country. Some of you let us know you still had snow in late April, and here in the Mid-Atlantic we’ve hardly had to turn on the air conditioning, as opposed to other years when we’ve had long 90 degree stretches in May. Of course, that makes it a little more challenging to decide whether last year’s plantings are just slow to emerge or if they’ve done a disappearing act. That can be extremely difficult for new gardeners—many’s the time in my previous life I had customers returning plants that were still alive but just hadn’t started new growth yet. One thing to remember is that “perennial” doesn’t mean “forever,” it just means that the plant takes more than one year to complete its life cycle, unlike annuals that grow, bloom, set seed and perish all in one year.

There's something so inviting about a vine-covered arbor or pergola. Whether used to create a welcoRed roses cover the elegant Kiftsgate Arch from Classic Garden Elementsming entrance, a shady garden nook, or softly frame a beautiful view, such a structure greatly enhances the landscape. There's no denying the drama of a red rose laden arch, or the romantic charm of a pergola draped in wisteria. But if you're trying to fill your garden with native plants, are there still good options?

We’ve all learned a lot over the last few years—maybe the most important thing the pandemic taught us is not to take even the tiniest things for granted. Who would have thought it would have been impossible to find common items like hand sanitizer or cleaning products? Even now we’re seeing late repercussions as logistical issues are causing shortages of grocery items including poultry, meat, and produce. We’ve realized that if we want to ensure our healthy food supply, the more we can grow for ourselves (and share with friends and neighbors) the better. Even if you have a postage stamp sized back yard, or only a balcony, there are many ways to grow a lot in a small space.

As a child, I remember spending many afternoons on my grandparents’ couch, gazing through their huge picture window at the birds visiting the feeders hung in the magnolia tree outside. It was the one bit of excitement that could be found at their peaceful country home, and I was mesmerized by the comings and goings, watching the flutter of red cardinals’ wings, the hopping of Carolina wrens and the speedy swooping of chickadees. And the music—trills, twitters, whistles, and sweetly sung notes, all part of a lively show enacted by seemingly delicate yet incredibly swift and agile feathered performers. I can still spend hours watching such a scene.

Between now and spring, nurseries, garden centers and online plant dealers will attempt to entice you with promises of filling your home with beautiful blooming plants to tide you over until the real gardening season begins. They know we plant junkies and gardening addicts are desperate for a growing fix. As a former garden center plant buyer it was my job to find those beauties you just couldn’t resist and convince you they would flower and flourish inside with you until the weather breaks. Anything that would naturally or could be forced to flower in winter was in play—primroses, daffodils, roses, geraniums, cyclamen, African violets, orchids, begonias, kalanchoe and so many, many more, often dresed in something party pretty--a colorful wrap or adorable novelty pot to make them even more irresistible. So enticing........... but will they actually last? Well, that's open to interpretation. Some of them are certainly fine houseplants that have the capacity to rebloom for you without a lot of extra care. Some of them will bloom for a few weeks and give you the opportunity to summer them on the patio or plant in the garden to enjoy in the future. And sadly, truth be told, some are bound for the compost pile after blooming is finished, unless you have a merciful gardening friend with lots of extra time and space (who will be sensible enough to toss it but not tell you about it).

Ah, the glory of a massive Joe Pye Weed in full September bloom, or the golden glow of amsonia with the setting sun behind. Two vistas that I’ll never see in my 20 x 20 yard. I envy those with too much space to fill—for me it’s difficult to fit four seasons of interest in a postage stamp sized garden. The same issue might plague beneficiaries of a larger garden that’s relatively mature but missing some flair in the fall. Like me, they don’t have room for 3 cubic feet of billowy aster or a hip-high wall of sunny goldenrod. Many of us might also balk at the constant deadheading required to keep summer bloomers going through fall. Even if you don’t mind the work, I swear sometimes it feels like caffienating a sleepy person at midnight—just let them rest already! And if you have some shade, ach, don’t even get me started! But there are some judiciously sized and fairly well-mannered perennials that will be happy to join your autumn soiree without bulldozing the other guests or drinking all the cider—or soaking up all the sun. Maybe one or two of these will make a pretty pop in your fall landscape.

If you have any of these seeds on the list below give this a try.  You may need to do a little additional research to find the best time to sow in your area for a particular plant.  Depending on how cold your winters are, direct sowing could be accomplished from mid-summer to 8 weeks before your last frost.   For example, here in our Zone 7, late summer sowings would include biennials like foxglove and and Canterbury bells.  Hollyhocks and bachelor buttons can be sown from August through November, and larkspur, nigella, and poppies prefer sowing after the first frost.

Thinking back over my gardening this past season, I remembered some seeds I bought for spring that never quite made it out of the pack. Ok, ok, not quite means not at all—they were tucked carefully away while awaiting the grow light I also purchased, which sits still unused as well. Life happened, things got busy, and……….there you have it. I know I can’t be the only one—I’ve seen friends with boxes full of seeds and plenty of good intentions. And then I remembered that just because I bought them for spring doesn’t mean I can’t use some now. There are many perennials and even some annuals that can be sown in the fall. Even better, some can be direct sown in the garden with a minimum of preparation. I suppose that means I won’t crack the box for that grow light open until late winter (hopefully the coming one).