Name:  Vigna unguiculata aka red noodle bean Type of Plant:  Edible landscaping! This annual vine produces long bean-like vegetables and is commonly called yard-long bean (an exaggeration), asparagus bean or snake bean. Why I love this:  In my garden the beans grow to...

Got clay flower pots? Is there bare area you don't know what to do with? Think about making a border of upside down mixed pots. This is a weekend project that can use what you've already got on hand and neatly fill a narrow strip or define a small garden. Small flower...

Name:  Rubus 'Doyle Thornless' aka Doyle’s thornless blackberry Type of Plant:  This blackberry plant is a shrub but it’s probably best grown as a vine because the canes grow 10 to 15 feet long. The plant does well in part-sun to part-shade. AHS Heat Zone: 10 - 1 ...

Name:  Brassica oleracea  Peacock White or Peacock Red aka Peacock kale Type of Plant:  This feather-leaf cultivar of the ornamental kale is one of the fall annuals sold at garden centers in autumn. Why I love this: My feeling is this: why buy mums that only last for...

Name: Emilia javanica  aka tassel flower Type of Plant: This is one of the flowering plants that I refer to as “my party crashers.” For some annuals, if you plant them in your garden once they will show up for the party every year, invited or not. They arrive so...

Attending the Grand Illumination on Martha's Vineyard should be on everyone's bucket list. In fact, don't put it on the "must do before I die" list, put it on your "must go in 2015" list. Seriously. It is a magical event that incorporates the best of small town...

Name: Alternanthera dentate Little Ruby™ Type of Plant:   An annual in this area, but a perennial in zones 9 – 11. Compact, burgundy foliage is most colorful in full sun but grows well in part shade as well. Why I love this: This annual mixes so well with other plants...

Name:  Heliopsis helianthoides ‘Prairie Sunset’ Type of Plant:   Herbaceous perennial (meaning the foliage dies to the ground in the winter and comes back from the roots in the spring) that grows best in full sun. Why I love this: This perennial is tall without being...

There is something about the way garden-grown flowers and tin cans go together...in August, when your annuals and perennials are most abundant, make some bouquets and place them in tin cans. Use them to decorate your kitchen, porch and patio. Leave them by the...

Name:   Lantana Type of Plant:  Annual for zones 8 and below, perennial in zone 9 and above. Why I love this:  Lantana has a special place in my heart because it was the first plant that anyone ever gave me as a gift. I’d had an operation when I was a freshman in high...