Chesapeake Home

Upon entering Paul and Beth Babikow’s private, artistic garden, one is immediately struck by the plant selection. Instead of planting what Paul sells at his wholesale nursery—annuals and perennials—the garden reflects Paul’s predilection for American woody natives and Asian introductions.

But the signature feature of the garden is the marriage of modern art and horticulture throughout [...]

Most people are familiar with purple coneflowers, Echinacea purpurea. These hardworking natives bloom purple, daisy-like flowers from summer to fall, attracting bees and butterflies. Fairly long lived perennials, they don’t seem to mind adverse conditions and rarely give gardeners any troubles. In fact, they are often taken for granted in full sun, perennial borders.
Recently, however, [...]

One of the joys of having a garden in the shade is to be able to grow a variety of epimediums. The perfect choice for a woodland area, their fragile beauty belies the fact that they are tremendously tough, long lasting perennials.
Usually grown as foot high groundcovers, epimediums provide delicate spring flowers and a wide [...]

My wish list for the future growing season begins every September with the Fashion in Bloom show. This 3-day event, hosted by the Garden Centers of America, is the horticultural equivalent to New York’s Fashion Week.

Over 30 wholesale horticultural companies at six local destinations trot their new plant collections and cultivars out onto the runway [...]

Over 1,000 orchid species are hardy enough to be grown outdoors.

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Once the bane of gardeners, who searched for methods to eradicate what they saw as an invasive nuisance, bamboo has made a recent comeback into people’s yards; some would even say this oriental grass has become a hot item.

Gardeners are now interested in planting newly introduced varieties, which offer low-maintenance, evergreen plantings that are deer [...]

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Scented geraniums, the International Herb Association’s 2006 Herb of the Year, are much more than herbs. Traditionally, they have been used for their ability to add flavor and perfume, but they are also easy-to-grow houseplants, and they thrive in outdoor containers.

Recently, gardeners have been exploring their use as tender perennials in the garden, much like [...]

A lot has changed since my grandmother’s time, including the old-fashioned shrubs in her garden. Most of her shrubs were tolerant of poor conditions, provided color with flowers and a lot of green in the summer, and were large enough to serve as foundation plants.
These deciduous shrubs were adaptable and easy to propagate. People shared [...]

By Peggy Riccio Peggy Riccio is a Contributing Editor to ChesapeakeHome Discovering small, butter-yellow flowers pushing through the snow in late winter always cheers me up. The wide, happy faces of winter aconites tell me that cold weather will soon come to an end. Later, when I find patches of dainty white snowdrops and nests of blue, Siberian squills, I know spring has arrived. Small, early flowering bulbs like these have traditionally been called lesser or minor bulbs. Recently, nurseries be