When you think of a tropical landscape, the first plants that most likely come to mind are palm trees, plumeria, beautiful flowering shrubs like crotons, plus wide-leafed foliage like heliconias. There is another plant that is equally abundant in tropical landscapes that can be glossed over. However, it is one of the most important types of…
A huge part of running a garden blog is the photography. Some of my favorite garden blogs that I frequent feature great photography, and it is a key reason why I visit them so often. Over the last few years of running Married to Plants, I have grown quite a bit as a writer. While my…
Plant snobs. Any long-time gardener or plant collector has run into them. The further you dig yourself into the gardening lifestyle, the more the plant snobbery reveals itself. Sadly, what is lost in all this is the beauty that can be found in a commonly available plant. Common plants become common for a reason. After many…
It was maybe six years ago that I received a few lava stone pots from Bali after a family trip. In two of those pots I place a Neoregelia ‘Ink Well,’ each with two pups growing from it. I always loved the color of Neoregelia ‘Ink Well,’ and because it is a bigger Neoregelia, I wouldn’t…
Gardeners know how easy it is to add color to their landscape. The choices nowadays are truly endless and the list expands daily. What a great time to be a gardener. Red, orange, yellow, green, white, brown, purple, pink. All easy. Getting black and blue in the garden, however, can be a different story. So why is blue…
If I were to choose a season as my favorite, it would be a tough choice between fall and spring. I enjoy the fall because the garden is at its zenith and I know my winter break from most gardening chores is right around the corner. With that being said, I think I would have…
Back on August 25th, 2015, famed plantsmen and palm tree growing legend Mardy Darian passed away at 82 years young. I first met Mardy in 2008 when I went with a few friends to tour his Vista, California, garden. In an effort to limit visitors and to generate some income to assist with his water bill, Mardy would charge…
Here comes El Niño. And no, it is not this guy. It is hard to believe that this Saturday Night Live skit featuring the hilarious Chris Farley was first shown almost 20 years ago. The year was 1997 and it marked the last time California felt the effects of a strong El Niño event. Since that time we have…