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By MICKEY RATHBUN

Crabapple trees are one of my favorite ornamental spring trees. A mainstay of the New England landscape, they offer three seasons of interest, plus a handsome branching habit that looks good all winter long, especially when decked with freshly fallen...

By MICKEY RATHBUN

I have a big patch of daylilies behind my house. They are a disorganized jumble of plants that were given to me along with others that I’ve bought at plant sales, nurseries and farmers markets. I have never paid much attention to this part of the...

By PRISCILLA TOUHEY

Q: I have a ton of vinca growing under my trees and would like to start replacing it this fall with native groundcovers. Any suggestions of good options? –R.M., Hatfield A: I am so glad you asked, R.M.! Vinca minor (Periwinkle) does fit the...

By MICKEY RATHBUN

Some garden sites are more challenging than others. But to say that Randy and Sue Frost’s property poses landscaping challenges is an understatement. They purchased their house, on Coles Meadow Road in Northampton, in 2001, while it was still under...

Most people don’t pay much attention to bees, wasps and other pollinating insects, other than to swat them when they come too close. But these insects are crucial to our food supply. Between 75 and 90 percent of all flowering plant species require...

By Maureen Gilmer

The color purple has evolved well beyond links to Barney the dinosaur to become a favorite color for politics, hair and flowers. It’s little understood as a hue because royal purple is not the only shade offered. In fact, purple has two faces. It...

By Norman Winter

The last time I reported on the Cora Cascade was in 2010; so much has changed with this trailing beauty, it’s now even better than we knew it then, so I thought I’d write an update. Cora Cascade vinca has been beating the brutal summers in...