The just-ended 2024 Philadelphia Flower Show was another typically wow event with its 75,000-flower main-entrance garden, billboard-sized floral map of the U.S., and floral “clouds” hanging from the ceiling. The flower show’s Main Entrance garden had color every which way you looked.    But among the blooming glitz was a lot of fascinating plant and gardening information. Here’s a sampling that filled this reporter’s notebook. See George’s PennLive.com post with pictures on 14 of the coolest sights at the 2024 Philadelphia Flower Show The show’s big buzz    T ..read more

   We’ve had purple- and dark-blue-skinned tomatoes for years now, but this month marks the arrival of the world’s first tomato that’s a true, dark purple throughout. The Purple Tomato is purple throughout, not just at the skin level. Credit: Norfolk Healthy Produce    For now at least, it’s called simply The Purple Tomato, and it’s a bioengineered cherry-type tomato that gets its purple coloring from the genes of a purple snapdragon.    That’s what makes this variety particularly ground-breaking – it’s the first time a genetically modified food crop is being ma ..read more

   If you pay attention to which plants tend to croak in our winters – and as a gardener, you should – you’ve probably noticed less cold-weather mayhem over the past 20 years or so. USDA came out with this newly revised Plant Hardiness Zone Map late last fall.    Although our temperatures can nosedive to zero or below, that’s been happening less and less. And as a result, our odds have been growing that we can get away with plants that not too long ago were considered “iffy” at best in our climate.    The U.S. Department of Agriculture has now verified what gard ..read more

   A hydrangea with dark leaves, a mock orange that reblooms, and an inkberry holly that solves the “bare-legs” problem are among the most interesting new trees and shrubs hitting the market for the 2024 growing season. Eclipse is a mophead hydrangea that combines dark foliage with cranberry-colored flowers. Credit: Bailey Nurseries    Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts mentioned the following 12 choices for my annual January four-part, best-new-plants series.    Today’s new trees and shrubs make up the final installment of this year’s series ..read more

   A cross between coneflowers and gloriosa daisies, a new variety of a little-known native plant, and the smallest native Joe Pye flower yet top the list of interesting new perennials debuting in the 2024 growing season. Echibeckias are a cross between coneflowers and rudbeckia. Credit: Quality Greenhouses    Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked the following 14 choices for my annual January four-part, best-new-plants series.    The article on best new edibles of 2024 appeared Jan. 9, while the rundown on best new annual flowers posted ..read more

   A super-cold-hardy dusty miller, a double-award-winning purple-blooming agapanthus, and a whole new type of succulent are among a slew of interesting new annual flowers debuting in the 2024 growing season. Semponium ‘Diamond’ is one of the entries in a whole new type of plant called Surrreal semponiums. Credit: Monrovia    Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked those and more for my four-part, best-new-plants series that I compile each January – a good month for gardeners to plan what to plant in the coming season.    The article on bes ..read more

   A lot of winter is still staring us in the face, but for gardeners, it’s a time to dream about the many plants already awakening in greenhouses. Fruit Snacks apple trees are narrow but heavy-yielding. Credit: Plants Nouveau    Some of these plants will be new to the market in 2024 – improvements or new twists that haven’t been grown in home gardens yet.    To help you decide which of the newcomers to consider for your 2024 gardens, I’ve scoured the trade and asked numerous experts for what they believe are the best of the best plants making their debut.   ..read more

   The National Gardening Association’s 2023 National Gardening Survey found that an estimated 80 percent of American households are taking part in some sort of lawn or gardening activity. Gardeners are looking at their yards as more than just a collection of pretty plants.    That’s a five-year high and comes despite markedly higher prices in plants and gardening supplies.    What form will that interest take in 2024? Here’s a look at 12 brewing trends that gardening trends-watchers see in their compost-stained crystal balls: More than just pretty plants   ..read more

   The 2023 gardening season took us down a lot of roads… too much and too little rain, the sudden appearance/disappearance of spotted lanternflies, more bans of invasive plants, and gardening in a smoky haze, to name a few. 2023 was another year when we had to deal with sometimes-too-much and sometimes-too-little rain.    I thought I’d close out the year by highlighting some of what I wrote about in 2023, giving you second-chance links in case you missed a post of interest.    Here you go… and happy 2024! On this website (free, unlimited reads):    I ..read more

   The world’s biggest and longest running indoor flower show, the Philadelphia Flower Show, is set to bloom next March 2-10, and the 2024 theme will be “United by Flowers.” “United by Flowers” is the theme of 2024 Philadelphia Flower Show. Credit: Pa. Horticultural Society    Show officials say visitors can expect a “massive, immersive, and flower-filled entrance garden,” plus large-scale floral creations and gardens designed by florists and garden artists from Philadelphia, the United States, and around the world.    Lowee’s Group Tours and I will be running f ..read more