Gardening and landscape-design books can take you away from your weeding while the weather's overheating. Here are a few good ones to check out. - [Read more]

What do you want in a plant? Flowers, berries, foliage color in summer and fall? Perhaps resistance to deer and drought? Should it be evergreen and low maintenance? - [Read more]

Most floral clocks are simply outdoor motorized timepieces with ornamental flowers in the shape of a clock. But what if you could coordinate the blooming so that the flowers would open and close at set times of the day? Now that would be an innovative way to tell time.

In the run-up to fall, there have been a lot of questions from you. - [Read more]

Q I own a rowhouse in Petworth, and I'd like to find a substitute for grass for my front lawn, to avoid having to lug my push mower through the house or around the block. I have read that the non-flowering variety of chamomile, Treneague, might be a good choice. Would it work, and where would I find it? - [Read more]

Q Deer have invaded our suburban Northern Virginia garden and have eaten, among other cherished plants, all our azaleas. What could we plant that would have a better chance of surviving? - [Read more]

QI've been trying to grow monkshood for a few years in a bed in partial shade. It always develops a black fungus of sorts on the buds by early- to midsummer. Is there a fungicide I can use to prevent this, preferably something that is organic or nontoxic? - [Read more]

Here are some landscape answers to wrap up the year.
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While many home buyers have house inspections, even the savviest often overlook the benefit of assessing the landscape. Ground isn't always as malleable as you might think. There are some elements that can be more difficult to change on a property than on the house, such as which way the water flows and the steepness of your slopes. - [Read more]

When Bo Barefoot gives directions to his house in Bethesda, he stops with the turn onto his street. After that, he says, "You'll see the banana trees." - [Read more]