Rhobin's Garden Blog

Daylilies form the backbone of summer flower gardens. Their large, bold flowers attract everyone’s attention, even if each bloom only lasts a day. Colors come in every hue between yellow and red from palest ivory to darkest burgundy. The only colors daylilies don’t come in are pure white and pure bl

The native wild hyacinth, the Camassia (ka-ma-see-a) or quamash, comes from the Northwestern states of the United States. The flowers bloom in late May and early June in my area, emerge on long spikes rising eighteen inches or more above the grass-like foliage. There are three species sold as garden

One of my gardening pet peeves is forsythia. Yes, a beautiful shrub, a shot of sunshine in early spring able to lift winter-worn spirits, which many enthusiasts love, but poor pruning often mangles the potential for beautiful sprays of flowers. My own employer is guilty. The photo shows shrubs found

After what seemed a mild winter, March came to our area with a wicked storm. We had fourteen inches of snow; a heavy snow that frosted every deciduous branch to the smallest twig. Evergreen trees looked like old, hunch-over homeless people covered in hoary rags. The storm created indescribably beaut

Does your garden invite you to walk through it even in the cold? Are you drawn to your windows to enjoy your garden through the winter or do you place a few bird feeders in front of the glass and ignore the garden? If you only watch the birds attracted to your feeders, your garden [...]

Making floral arrangements is one of my hobbies, one of the reasons I became interested in gardening. The forms, colors, textures and scents bring me such emotional pleasure. Every time I make one, I wonder why I chose this particular flower. The pictured arrangement was for a Christmas home tour, a

October 2, a beautiful sunny Sunday in October, several ladies and I completed our plans for a Tri-Refresher for Michigan Garden Clubs and District 4 in conjunction with the Central Region (7 states) Meeting. Tri-Refreshers allow garden club members to refresh their consultant credentials in Landsca

I was at the tri-refresher in Grand Rapids Sunday updating my garden study consultant credentials with NGC, Inc. The event was held in conjunction with the NGC’s Central Region Meeting. Designers from across the state had designs in honor of the states attending lined the corridors of the Plaza Hote

At last, my sunflowers have bloomed! If you live south of my location, yours have probably come and gone and are already producing seed. These huge, geometrically structured annual flowers vibrate with color, and never fail to grab attention. Over the last few decades they have have become iconic in