Ilona's Garden

“something beautiful, something good”

The Mystery of Purple, Mahogany, and Burgundy

Anthocyanins are naturally occurring pigments and they are the cause of purple pigments in plants. There are said to be over 500 anthocyanins. Anthocyanin production requires light, and sunny exposures will increase intensity of color; acidity affects it as well. Whether through breeding or by...

Posted by the gardener in herbs, plant profiles

The Weed I Love To Grow...

Dill Weed. I love this plant, and it is so easy to grow… as easy as a weed!If you plant Dill in a cultivated area such as an annually tilled vegetable garden, the seeds will come up for you year...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, Garden Research, insects

Butterfly Garden, Make Your Yard A D...

Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly gardens are simply a collection of plants, butterfly friendly methods, and the addition of a few special features. Anyone can have one in any size space. The magic begins when the...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, garden stories

Pictures Worth A Thousand Words...

I have a few photos of my garden, and it reminded me of advice to take pictures for a more objective view of your garden, to use as a base for making plans and noting what you like, what is working, and what...

Posted by the gardener in easy garden lessons, hints and tips

Ten Best Articles On Pruning...

When and how should you prune? This is an important question when you care about the health of valuable trees, shrubs, and plants. It also makes a difference in the blossom and fruits for that year. So I...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, garden theme

Make a Fairy Garden -Inspiration...

After getting the basic fairy garden components together, perhaps you would like a little more inspiration. Here are some pictures and resource ideas to ignite your imagination and inspire your own fairy...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, summer annuals

Container by container, Favorite Ann...

[Part One] [Part Two] Continuing to feature some of the beautiful ways that annuals can brighten up a garden. By joining the container recipes and annual plant highlights in the post, this gives ideas you can...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, Garden Research, garden design

Victorian Gardens...

Victorian garden The History: The Victorian Age lasted over a long period and holds an evolution of style, but there are characteristics that stand out among Victorian gardens, just as there are in Victorian...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, annuals, color, containers

Favorite annuals…Container by ...

[Part One] [Part Two] bright spring planter I love annuals. So much so, that it is a daunting task to try to profile all my favorites. As I was planting up my containers, it occurred to me that highlighting...

Posted by the gardener in general gardening, plant lists

For Dry Spaces : Plant List...

One of the most valuable pieces of plant information is a list of plants for a particular growing condition. There are always certain spaces in the yard which are difficult to use to good advantage, but with...

Posted by the gardener in Featured Articles, perennials, pink flowers, plant profiles, white flowers

Hellebores: Christmas and Lenten Ros...

My plants in the window Last year (2009) I purchased some potted hellebore plants on clearance from Whole Foods Market. I had read about them many times in gardening books over the years, and their fresh...