When growing plants indoors it is often difficult to provide the proper amount of light required to maintain a happy and healthy specimen. With the onslaught of winter the days are shorter and the nights are longer limiting the amount of available natural sunlight.

Houseplants are like Goldilocks…sometimes there is too much humidity and sometimes not enough. However, somewhere it’s “just right.” Many of our houseplants hail from the tropics and grow in humidity of 50-80%, considerably more humid than our homes.

Houseplants transform a house into a home, purify the air, promote relaxation and improve concentration. The ficus group includes four popular small trees grown as houseplants, each looking very different from one another, and each incorporating these and other great benefits.

Have you ever wondered how to create that beautiful Christmas tree, the kind featured in photo shoots and magazines? Whether you opt for a live potted tree, a fresh cut pine or an artificial tree you can reuse for several years, the steps to a stunning, artistic tree are the same, and you don’t have to be an interior designer to create a lovely Christmas tree.

No matter how cold the temperatures or how deep the snow, you can enjoy the pleasures of herbs this winter season by growing them in your windowsill. Herbs are great for adding zest to any food and are a delicious substitute for salt and artificial flavors.

Hold onto your gardening hats, folks! Remember terrariums? A new trend revitalizing this old style is now better than ever. Creating a theme for your terrarium is easier too, with the all the miniatures now available. Remember those skinny-necked bottles and what a hassle they were? New container styles make terrariums easier to plant, simple to maintain and more beautiful in your home.

It’s finally here, that time of year that we’ve all been anticipating – fall! And, you know what fall means? Tulip time! The cooler days…

Many gardeners with shady, low-light landscapes mistakenly believe they can’t enjoy beautiful gardens and flowerbeds because of the lack of sunlight. In reality, however, many stunning perennials thrive in shady spots and can bring elegance, color and beauty to what was formerly a drab corner of the yard.

Do you have a “black thumb”? Do you love houseplants but just can’t seem to keep them alive? Worry no more.

Grow one of the oldest American cultivated plants and join the Incas and Aztecs who grew – and revered – sunflowers more than 4,600 years ago.