Savvy Gardening

Growing honeyberries: Add these hardy fruit bushes to your garden

Years ago, I was introduced to honeyberries (known to me as haskap berries) via a delicious jam from the province of Saskatchewan. Little did I know back then that growing honeberries is pretty easy. Though it’s not a fruit commonly known in North America, the shrubs thrive in most of the U.S. and Canada—even Alaska—and make a beautiful garden addition. Once established, the plants can produce for 30 years or more.

Planting pole beans to boost yields and save space

Written by Niki Jabbour

Planting pole beans should be on the to-do list of every vegetable gardener. Not only are they a reliable crop, but the vining plants are serious space savers and produce a far larger harvest than bush beans when given the same square footage. In this article you’ll learn when and how to plant pole beans, the best site for the vines, and how to care for the plants to ensure the best possible harvest of tender snap beans.

Pineapple sage care: How to grow this fragrant herb

Written by Tara Nolan

Pineapple sage is an ornamental herb that I like to include in my container arrangements. It also looks really striking in a garden, especially if it grows to its full size. This edible, shrubby herb can grow up to five feet tall and two to three feet wide! Following a few simple tips for pineapple sage care will ensure a healthy plant that will eventually produce those tubular, red flowers that butterflies, hummingbirds, and all kinds of bees love.

Weeping trees: 14 beautiful choices for the yard and garden

Written by Jessica Walliser

If you’ve ever seen a weeping cherry tree in bloom or sat beneath the branches of a stately weeping willow, you know how lovely this distinctive growth habit can be. With branches that cascade from the trunk like water down a mountainside, weeping trees are coveted treasures in gardens and yards everywhere. Whether they’re flowering, evergreen, or deciduous, planting a weeping tree in your landscape adds an eye-catching focal point to the design.
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How to make peppers grow faster: 12 effective strategies

Written by Niki Jabbour

If you’re a pepper geek like me, you start to anticipate the homegrown pepper harvest as soon as the seedlings are planted in the garden. Pepper plants start off slow and you may wonder how to make peppers grow faster so that you can start picking hot and sweet peppers as soon as possible. In this article you’ll get tips on encouraging quick growth from your pepper plants as well as an early harvest.

Weeping Alaskan cedar: An elegant, easy-to-grow evergreen tree

Written by Jessica Walliser

Some horticulturists might have trouble choosing a favorite evergreen tree. Not me. If you ask, I won’t hesitate to tell you the evergreen tree I adore above all others is the weeping Alaskan cedar. Botanically known most commonly as Chamaecyparis nootkatensis (or occasionally by its newer genus, Xanthocyparis), this tree is a winner in every sense of the word. I’d like to tell you more about the weeping Alaskan cedar in hopes that you’ll fall in love with it, too.
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