A Way To Garden https://awaytogarden.com/ 'horticultural how-to and woo-woo' with margaret roach, head gardener Sun, 03 May 2026 09:35:52 +0000 en-US hourly 1 9651199 getting confident with color in the garden, with stephen orr https://awaytogarden.com/getting-confident-with-color-in-the-garden-with-stephen-orr/ https://awaytogarden.com/getting-confident-with-color-in-the-garden-with-stephen-orr/#comments Fri, 01 May 2026 16:26:25 +0000 https://awaytogarden.com/?p=58991 HOW CONFIDENT are you about the use of color in your garden, and where do you draw your inspiration from for creating a pleasing palette? The topic of color is just one of many that Stephen Orr tackles in his new book, “The Gardener’s Mindset: Connecting with Nature Through Plants,” and we talked together recently about how he’s finding his way to some combinations that please him through his own garden experiments. Stephen, the former editor-in-chief of “Better Homes & Gardens,” is embarking on the fifth growing season at the home he shares with his husband on Cape Cod. It’s their fourth garden and their most ambitious one, a place that presented new realities to acclimate to like sandy soil, but also at least one form of great relief: Finally, no deer. Above, one of his tactics that we discussed for keeping track of color ideas that work is to take snippets of plants of a given moment in the garden and photograph them as a still-life, for future inspiration. Plus: Comment in the box near the bottom of the page for a chance to win a copy of “The Gardener’s Mindset” (affiliate link). Read along as you listen to […]

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]]> https://awaytogarden.com/getting-confident-with-color-in-the-garden-with-stephen-orr/feed/ 7 58991 straight talk on native-plant cultivars, with mt. cuba’s sam hoadley https://awaytogarden.com/the-straight-talk-on-cultivars-with-sam-hoadley/ https://awaytogarden.com/the-straight-talk-on-cultivars-with-sam-hoadley/#comments Sat, 25 Apr 2026 12:05:46 +0000 https://awaytogarden.com/?p=58952 IF WE’RE shopping for native plants with the most ecological impact—ones with the most pollinator appeal, for example—then simply choosing by the prettiest picture on a label or by a catalog photo won’t get you to your goal. It helps to understand the vocabulary of natives: words like straight species and ecotype and selection and cultivar. Especially with cultivars—the cultivated named varieties of, say, Echinacea or Phlox or Aster of which there are now so many to choose from—we need to learn to read between the lines on those plant labels, because not all cultivars are created equal. Sam Hoadley, the manager of horticultural research at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware, helped me  understand how to do just that. Since 2002, the gardeners at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware have been studying native plants and their cultivars for their garden-worthiness and ecological value, and since 2019 Sam Hoadley has been heading up that effort, conducting multi-year trials that compare different species and varieties of a genus. (Above, Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana,’ a top performer in their Phlox trial.) Read along as you listen to the April 27, 2026 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can […]

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]]> https://awaytogarden.com/the-straight-talk-on-cultivars-with-sam-hoadley/feed/ 13 58952 resilient plants that meet the high line’s test, with richard hayden https://awaytogarden.com/resilient-plants-that-meet-the-high-lines-test-with-richard-hayden/ https://awaytogarden.com/resilient-plants-that-meet-the-high-lines-test-with-richard-hayden/#comments Fri, 17 Apr 2026 16:25:04 +0000 https://awaytogarden.com/?p=58921 BOTH GARDENERS and their plants have to be more resilient than ever these days in our changing climate it seems. At the High Line in New York City, one of the best-known naturalistic gardens anywhere, that’s especially so, since it’s built on the preposterous site of a former rail line, 30 feet above street level, meaning a plant must be an exceptional performer to make the grade. Richard Hayden, the High Line’s Senior Director of Horticulture, talked to me about the plants that excel in different extremes of moisture, for instance, or in shade, or offer the most ecologically, and about how the team is using certain species to create weed-suppressing living green mulch, and also shifting their thinking about gardens as ecological communities rather than a collection of plants. Richard joined the High Line four years ago to lead the team that manages the mile-and-a-half-long stretch of gardens, with two new areas set to open this year. Also: On Saturday, May 30, the High Line is holding its first-ever plant sale with 39 different species the team has propagated from the garden—some of those top performers, that play key roles in making the High Line work aesthetically and ecologically. […]

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