AMERICAN GARDENER

Birds that look like penguins are far more common than most people realize, and the resemblance runs deeper than simple coincidence, since the word penguin itself was originally used for a completely different bird more than 400 years before it was ever applied to the tuxedo-clad seabirds of the Southern Hemisphere. European sailors first used … Read more

Roses rank among the most widely grown ornamental plants on earth, and understanding the different types of roses makes it far easier to choose the right variety for a garden, a cutting bed, or a container on a balcony. The genus Rosa contains more than 300 species and tens of thousands of cultivated hybrids, a … Read more

Flowers are among the most diverse and recognizable plants on Earth. They can be found growing in gardens, forests, grasslands, wetlands, deserts, mountains, and even along roadsides. Some flowers are cultivated for their beauty, while others are grown for fragrance, cut flowers, pollinators, food, medicine, or their ability to thrive in particular climates. With so … Read more

Tomatoes are among the most widely grown garden crops in the world, but the familiar red supermarket tomato represents only a small part of the enormous diversity available to gardeners. Tomatoes come in many shapes, sizes, colors, flavors, and growing habits. Depending on the variety, a tomato may be tiny enough to fit on a … Read more

Buying for a gardener comes with a strange built-in challenge: the person on your list already owns a shed full of tools, has strong opinions about trowel handle angles, and can spot a cheap pair of pruners from across the yard. More than half of American households do some form of gardening each year, and … Read more

Gardening remains one of the most popular hobbies in the United States, with national surveys consistently finding that more than half of American households participate in some form of lawn or garden activity each year, collectively spending tens of billions of dollars annually on plants, tools, and equipment. Many of the hand tools gardeners rely … Read more

Oak trees belong to the genus Quercus, which contains somewhere between 450 and 600 recognized species worldwide, making it one of the largest and most ecologically significant tree genera found across the Northern Hemisphere. Few trees rival the oak’s importance to wildlife, since research from entomologist Doug Tallamy has shown that native oaks in North … Read more

The English oak tree stands as one of Europe’s most iconic and culturally significant hardwoods, celebrated for centuries as a symbol of strength, endurance, and national heritage. With its broad, spreading crown and deeply furrowed bark, this long-lived giant has shaped forests, folklore, and shipbuilding history across its native range. This article covers everything to … Read more

The black poplar tree is one of Europe’s most ecologically significant native hardwoods and, in Britain specifically, one of its rarest, with wild populations now reduced to a fraction of their historical numbers. Recognized by its gnarled, leaning trunk and deeply fissured bark, this once-common floodplain tree has become a symbol of conservation urgency across … Read more

The Himalayan poplar tree is a towering, fast-growing hardwood native to the high mountain forests of South and Central Asia, valued for centuries across its native range for timber, fodder, and traditional medicine. Distinguished by its tall, straight trunk and wide, rounded crown, this cold-adapted tree thrives at elevations where few other broadleaf species can … Read more