Want to save a favorite outdoor plant before winter arrives? Here’s how to bring outdoor plants inside safely, check for pests, make the transition easier, and avoid bringing unwanted little hitchhikers into your home.
Every fall, there comes a point when I start looking around outside and deciding which plants I’m willing to let go…and which ones are getting rescued from the cold.
Because apparently after spending all summer growing a beautiful plant, I’m supposed to just calmly let the first hard freeze take it?
Absolutely not. 😂
Continue reading “How to Bring Outdoor Plants Inside for Winter — Without Bringing the Bugs”Wondering which perennials to cut back in fall—and which ones are better left standing? Here’s a practical guide to cleaning up daylilies, hostas, peonies, irises and more while leaving beneficial winter interest behind.
Once the first few hard frosts arrive, my perennial garden starts looking a little less like the garden I enjoyed all summer and a little more like… well, a garden that has officially given up for the year. 😂
Leaves turn yellow, stems flop over, and suddenly I’m standing outside with pruning shears wondering:
Do I cut all of this down?
Continue reading “How to Cut Back Perennials in Fall: What to Cut and What to Leave Standing”Turn one coleus plant into a whole collection! Learn how to take coleus cuttings, root them in water, transplant them into soil, and keep your new plants growing happily indoors through winter.
Coleus might be one of the most dangerously easy plants to propagate.
You start with one plant. You snip off a little cutting. You stick it in a glass of water.
And suddenly you’re looking around the house wondering where you’re going to put the other 14 coleus plants you somehow acquired.
Ask me how I know. 😂
Continue reading “Propagating Coleus: How to Turn One Plant Into a Whole Collection”Learn how to propagate a snake plant by dividing pups with this simple step-by-step guide, from separating the baby plant to potting it up and helping it thrive on its own.
A simple step-by-step guide to separating snake plant babies and turning one houseplant into several.
Snake plants are already pretty generous houseplants. Give them a decent spot, don’t drown them, and they’ll usually carry on without demanding much attention.
Then one day, you look down into the pot and realize…
You have babies. 🌿
Continue reading “How to Propagate a Snake Plant by Dividing Pups”Turn an ordinary coleus into a beautiful indoor tree with a little patience and plenty of pruning. Learn how to train the stems, shape a full canopy, and keep your coleus tree growing beautifully indoors—even through a long northern winter.
With a little pruning, patience, and plenty of light, an ordinary coleus can be trained into a colorful little tree—and it’s easier than you might think.
Coleus is one of those plants that can surprise you.
Most of us think of coleus as a colorful, bushy plant tucked into containers or garden beds for the summer. But with a little patience and some strategic pruning, you can train a coleus into an entirely different shape—a miniature tree with a tall trunk and a full canopy of colorful leaves.
That’s exactly what I did with mine.
Continue reading “How to Grow a Coleus Tree: From a Cutting to a Beautiful Indoor Plant”Grow fresh herbs indoors all winter with a simple mason jar herb garden. Learn how to plant, water, and care for parsley, rosemary, basil, and thyme—even during the darkest northern months.
An easy way to grow fresh herbs indoors—even when your outdoor garden is buried under snow.
When the outdoor garden season is short, growing a few herbs indoors is an easy way to keep something green going all year long. And you don’t need a fancy indoor garden system to do it.
Continue reading “How to Grow an Indoor Herb Garden in Mason Jars”Learn how to propagate a snake plant from a leaf cutting in water, from making the first cut to growing roots and watching brand-new shoots appear. A simple houseplant project that just takes a little water—and plenty of patience! 🌱
An easy way to turn one snake plant leaf into a brand-new plant—with a little water and a whole lot of patience.
Snake plants have a reputation for being pretty tough houseplants.
They tolerate missed waterings. They don’t demand constant attention. And somehow, even after being ignored for a while, they usually just keep going.
But one of my favorite things about them is something I didn’t fully appreciate until I tried it myself:
You can grow an entirely new snake plant from a piece of a leaf. 🌿
Continue reading “How to Propagate a Snake Plant From a Leaf Cutting in Water”Turn an overgrown string of hearts into a beautiful living display! Learn how to gently train long, trailing vines around a heart-shaped support while keeping plenty of that gorgeous cascading growth.
String of hearts is one of those houseplants that starts out looking sweet and innocent.
A few delicate vines. Tiny heart-shaped leaves. Nothing suspicious happening here.
And then one day you realize those vines have somehow traveled halfway across the room. 😂
Continue reading “How to Train a String of Hearts Into a Heart Shape”Get your raised garden beds ready for a long northern winter with simple tips for fall cleanup, improving soil, protecting your beds, and making spring gardening easier.
By the end of a short northern growing season, the garden can look a little… tired.
Plants are past their prime, weeds have somehow found one last burst of energy, and after spending all summer watering, weeding, harvesting, and trying to keep everything alive, it’s tempting to simply walk away and let the snow take care of it.
And technically, the snow will cover everything eventually. 😂
But spending a little time preparing your raised beds for winter can protect your soil, make spring cleanup easier, and give next year’s garden a much better start.
Continue reading “How to Prepare Raised Garden Beds for Winter in a Cold Climate”Learn how to prepare your perennial garden for a long northern winter with simple tips for fall cleanup, watering, mulching, dividing plants, and protecting your garden until spring.
By late fall, a northern perennial garden can look a little alarming.
The flowers are gone. Leaves are turning brown. Plants that were enormous a few weeks ago are suddenly collapsing onto the ground.
After spending all summer taking care of them, it’s easy to look at the garden and think:
Well. That doesn’t look promising.
Continue reading “How to Prepare Your Perennial Garden for Winter in a Cold Climate”
