Dear plant lovers,

Here I am again. This time I wish you happy holidays and thank you for supporting The Green Thumb during the challenges of 2024. Let’s look forward to a brighter 2025. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
This is a short message to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. October was a busy month, and I have been catching up in November. In this month of the Chrysanthemum, I have been lucky to enjoy the above mushroom-like mum next to my driveway, which returns every fall to delight me and attract legions of buzzing bees. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
This red dahlia made it to our front yard two years ago. It didn’t bloom last year. But look at what she’s done this year. It’s not afraid to show her bright-colored blooms. Dahlias are native to the mountains of Mexico and Central America. The Aztecs ate their starchy roots. The Spanish colonizers introduced the flowers to Europe, where they became famous. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
Here are my two trophies!
I saw a monarch butterfly for the first time in my yard. Flying around the Swamp milkweed (Asclepius) on July 26. I chased it with my iPhone. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it, as seen in the photo. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
And the winners are? The black-eyed Susans! My heart sank when I discovered the deer had yanked the tops of my thriving 12-inch black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirtais) in June. When I found them cut, it felt as if a machete had pierced through my hopes. I wished I had been there to shoo the deer away. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
What do a white yarrow, a black-eyed Susan, and a froggy in a Bromelia have in common? They know how to tolerate the heat during the summer. I took a picture of the drought-tolerant yarrow to highlight the flag’s white stripes on July 4th. The orange and brown black-eyed Susan is a drought-tolerant flower that attracts bees all summer. Its seeds feed birds in the fall.  Finally, the froggy moved into the Bromelia when I brought it home at the end of May. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
It’s BEE time. Every morning, I go to the yard to see the new flowers popping up and many bees jumping happily from flower to flower greet me. The bees made sporadic appearances in April, but my yard is a bee playground since May. Whenever I approach the coreopsis, the asters, and the milkweed, the bees serenade me with a rhapsody of bee buzzing. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
This year, our peonies are exuberant. We have about five varieties: white, yellow, light pink, dark pink, and some with white or red centers. One plant only produces one flower and continues producing beautiful leaves until the end of summer.

I wanted yellow peonies for many years, but they took a lot of work to find. Finally, I got one little plant and added it to the peony patch with the other colors. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
Magnolias and forsythias were just two plants that popped up all over my neighborhood this year. Their pink and golden flowers were brighter and more abundant than last year.

With the early spring, the early blossoming trees and shrubs burst into color all over the East Coast of the United States by mid-March. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
Crocuses have been more abundant in my garden this year. I had more flowers and more colors. They appeared one by one, like ballerinas parading to the center stage to get together and put on an outstanding performance to welcome the spring. Some were white, others blue, purple, or vibrant yellow; some were short, others tall and slim..  Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
These Snowdrops (Galanthus) pleasantly surprised me last week when I visited my dear friend Aisha. They covered large spots in the courtyard of her apartment building. I spent a lovely afternoon celebrating her 85th birthday. The snowdrops and her birthday reminded me that we were six weeks away from the formal beginning of spring.  Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
The pansies I bought in October are still alive. They have survived many weather events, from warm days to freezing nights, snow, and freezing rain. No matter the insult, they laugh back, stand up, and show the beauty of their little flowers again in a defiant pose, waiting for the following weather insult. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
Winter is a magical time in the garden, a season of quiet renewal and anticipation. As the plants and the soil embrace a well- deserved rest, they quietly gather strength for a vibrant resurgence in spring. In the same spirit of rejuvenation, I’m offering you a brief rest with this month’s short issue. Let’s take a moment to reflect and celebrate the culmination of our newsletter’s first remarkable year together. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
This echinacea in my garden, still blossoming at the end of October, symbolizes tenacity and endurance. It whispers a timeless message to all who watch its beauty: that life’s true essence lies not in escaping the inevitable changes but in embracing them with grace and vitality. Let’s enjoy the remaining days of the fall as our gardens drift into their well-deserved winter rest. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
Fall is here. The leaves of my dogwood are turning red and will be falling in a few weeks. Soon, piles of leaves will cover my yard. Now that I aim to have an ecosystem-friendly yard, I am questioning my clean-up habit of cutting and removing the dry plants and leaves in the first weeks of fall. Fortunately, the article from our master gardener, Janet Entwistle, discusses a new approach to fall clean-up. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
Fall is around the corner. I hope your gardens and home plants delighted you with a rainbow of colorful flowers and leaves this summer. As the days shorten, the tree leaves change from yellow to bright tones of red, and the fall plants, like the asters (Symphyotricum), show up. Let’s welcome the rainbow of fall colors. read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
June and July brought me an explosion of colors and shapes indoors and outdoors. Lilies, black-eyed Susans, lavender, butterfly weeds, milkweeds, bee balms, begonias, coneflowers, and the most dramatic production of hardy hibiscus read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
Most yucca flowers in my neighborhood are dry. The bees are buzzing, and the butterflies and fireflies are brightening our days and nights. The plants read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
After catching up from my trip to Turkey and Greece, here are some news and articles to continue with our pollinator garden efforts and a plant related story from my trip.
Summer is around the corner. Read more

Hello Plant Lovers,
Spring is here. The cherry blossom aroma is in the air with hints of vanilla, rose, lilac, almond, peach, or green apple. Perhaps, the combination is what makes it so pleasant. Read more

Crocus and daffodils are dancing in the gardens already. I can’t wait for the Spring beautiful colors and aromas.
This issue starts with some news and then covers the following: how to attract hummingbirds to your yard with advice from Master Gardener Janet Entwistle; air-purifying plants; and basics about aloe veras. Read more

This issue covers three topics: how to prepare your yard to make it more ecosystem friendly in the Spring with advice from Master Gardener Janet Entwistle; how to water your plants; and basics about begonias. Read more

Happy New Year. Welcome to the Green Thumb. This newsletter is for people interested in tips to grow happy plants. If plants are not your thing, please give it a chance. In a few weeks, you may want to learn more secrets about the amazing world of gardening. Read more