Add flavor and variety to this year’s vegetable garden with the 2013 All-America Selections (AAS) Winners.

Looking for a unique, personal and affordable gift this holiday season? Consider something from your garden.

The summer weather and your busy schedule have left your landscape looking a bit weary. There’s still time to add sparkle and enjoy your landscape this summer.

Papyrus has been an important crop throughout history used for food, shelter, fiber, and medicine. In more recent times it has been popular as both an indoor and outdoor plant.

Now is a great time to plan for added color in your landscape.

Green petals, misshapen flowers, twisted, and distorted leaves that turn yellow or red and tufts of white hairy roots on carrots are symptoms of aster yellows.

Add a little extra color, motion and interest to your landscape by attracting birds and butterflies to the garden. Make sure your yard provides all the essentials - food, water, shelter and a place to raise young. And be sure to avoid the use of pesticides that can harm the wildlife you are trying to attract.

Break out your favorite vegetable dip and grab a handful or two of carrots and celebrate National Carrot Day on February 3rd. And add these tasty and nutritional vegetables to your garden plan this season.

Don’t discard those left over seeds from last season. When properly stored, many seeds can last for years, saving you money when you plan and plant this year’s garden.

A few yellow spots, browning or wilted leaves on cucumber, squash, pumpkins or melons should send you on a search for squash bugs.

Don’t throw away that worn and leaky kid’s swimming pool. Instead, put it to work in your garden.

Piles of plastic pots fill the sheds and garages of gardeners across the country. Don’t throw these in the trash. Rather look for ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle plant pots.

Bring a bit of the desert, tropics or evergreen forest to your backyard. Container plantings allow you to push the limits of your growing environment.

We all need a pick me up now and then and so do our gardens. Here are a few things you can do to add a bit of instant beauty to your landscape.

Carrots, lettuce, begonia and other small seeds can be difficult to plant at the proper spacing. Reduce wasting seeds and time spent thinning seedlings.

Keep the flavor of your garden alive all year long. Pick and dry herbs for winter meals and holiday gifts.

Gather the family in the kitchen, prepare a meal, and sit down to celebrate Eat Better and Eat Together.

No, it wasn’t the ornery neighborhood kids that clipped your new transplants off at the base. It was likely the result of the sneaky cutworm.

Every garden season is filled with beautiful or tasty surprises and a few challenges. You can prevent or reduce challenges and damage caused by insect pests and still be kind to the environment.

Early planting and unseasonably cool wet springs can cause bean and corn seeds to fail to sprout or fully develop. These seeds either rotted or were damaged by corn seed maggot.

Add a little extra color and beauty to your fall landscape.

Create an outdoor fall container made of items harvested from your landscape.

Try forcing a few spring flowering bulbs for indoor enjoyment or added beauty on your patio and deck.

Add color to your late spring garden with Forever Pink Phlox.

Get rid of the fence dividing you and your neighbors’ yard. Instead create a beautiful garden you both can enjoy.

Didn’t get that garden planted this year? Or maybe you didn’t plant enough for your families needs. Don’t worry, you can still have fresh from the garden flavor and be kind to the environment.

June 12th is National Get Outdoors Day. So gather the family and head out to the garden.

A tangle of carrots, ill-formed beets, and non-existent radish roots mean it’s time to add thinning to your gardening list.

It’s that time of year when your mailbox or inbox is filled with garden catalogs. Take advantage of the beautiful pictures and great ideas to help plan additions and changes to this year’s garden.

Vertical wall gardens are all the rage. They green up otherwise unplantable spaces and can even help conserve energy.

Boost your garden’s productivity and harvest garden-fresh vegetables all season long.

Whether gardening on a balcony or an acre lot – there is always room for an evergreen. The many new dwarf varieties available make it easy for everyone, even balcony gardeners, to include evergreens in their landscape.

Add a bit of nutrition to your diet and landscape. Grow a container full of nutritious vegetables for your patio, deck or balcony.

Keep a fresh supply of bone-building calcium growing in your garden all season long.

Parsley is not just a garnish for your meals. This Vitamin rich herb is a great addition to your garden and recipes.

Reduce your grocery bill this summer by growing a few of your favorite vegetables. And the good news, you don’t need much space to produce enough fresh vegetables for you and your family to enjoy.

Nothing beats fresh-from-the -garden corn on the cob. But this is one vegetable that takes up a lot of space for a small harvest.

Picture this - Your guest reaches over and plucks a sprig of mint from a planter to add to their iced tea or Mojito. Nothing beats the fresh-from-the-garden flavor or fun of ingredients right from your own garden.

Many of us are looking for ways to rid our body of toxins, while improving our eating habits. Asparagus is nature’s own detoxifier and one of the most nutritionally balanced vegetables.

Celebrate National Pickle Week by growing a few of your own cucumbers for pickling.

Add a bit of fiber to your garden and diet. Consider growing edible soybeans in this year’s garden.

All you need is a container with drainage holes, well-drained potting mix and red lettuce seeds. Fill the container with the potting mix. Sprinkle the lettuce seed over the soil surface, Lightly cover with potting mix and gently water. Loosely cover with plastic to keep the soil moist and reduce the need to water.

Apples are the perfect fat-free fruit for your diet and garden. Plant just a couple trees or a small orchard so you can harvest an apple-a-day right from your own backyard.

Make homegrown onions part of your diet. Their flavor is guaranteed to add zest to your meals and their health benefits include lowering the risk of many cancers.

Give them a chill and stop the tears. Cooling your onions and cutting into the root end last reduces the tear inducing impact of the onions sulfuric compounds. And consider improving the flavor and fun by growing your own onions from seed.

I have a quiz for you - What is white, red or yellow, can be eaten fresh, fried or even raw and is one of the most important staples of the human diet. If you guessed potato, you are right.

Add a bit of color and nutrition to your meals with home grown sweet potatoes.

Grow a few healthy snacks for you and your family to enjoy. Carrots have the crunch of chips and crackers without the fat and calories.

It’s time to start reaping the benefits of your spring plantings. So break out the garden fork and get busy harvesting.

Get the best flavor and longest storage life from your homegrown garlic with proper harvesting and curing.

Break out the garden fork and get ready to start harvesting onions and potatoes.

All your hard work and effort is paying off with a bountiful harvest.

Spice up your cooking with fresh-from-the-garden herbs.

Don’t let going gluten-free get you down. Include some fresh-from-the-garden vegetables to add flavor to your gluten-free meals.

Heat up your meals and improve your health by adding a few hot peppers to your garden and meal plan.

Whether you garden with your own children or those of family and friends consider making a portion of your landscape kid friendly.

Have a bit of fun and stretch your gardening muscles with kitchen scrap gardening.

Get the most flavor and nutritional value from your garden-fresh vegetables with proper harvesting, storage and preparation.

Take advantage of weekends, holidays and school vacations to get the children in your life involved with vegetable gardening.

Weighing in at 1,140 pounds is the largest pumpkin ever grown. But was it a pumpkin or a squash?

Add a little zip to your garden and meals by planting herbs.

The holidays are filled with lots of delicious foods and sweets. But now is the time to resolve to grow your own vegetables and eat healthier in the New Year.

Trees, shrubs and perennials are great for container gardens. But as winter approaches we need to provide a bit of care to help them through the winter.

Make a difference one row of vegetables at a time.

Add a little magic to your landscape with a fairy garden.

Celebrate the Fourth of July with a little red, white and blue in the garden.

Double your harvest without increasing your garden space. Try planting short season vegetables like lettuce, radishes and beets between long season vegetables like tomatoes, peppers, okra, cabbage, and broccoli. When the short season veggies are ready to harvest, the longer season larger vegetables will need the space.

Don’t let cold soil and late spring frost delay the start to your garden season.

The soil has finally warmed and it is time to get pumpkins, melons, squash and cucumbers in the ground.

Lower your blood pressure and cholesterol, fight heart disease, boost your immune system, and add a bit of flavor to your meals by growing your own garlic.

Your plants look great, loaded with healthy leaves and flowers, but there is still no fruit. This is a common complaint I hear from gardeners growing squash, cucumbers, and other vine crops.

Are you like me and always squeeze in that extra tomato plant, another row of beans or that one left over pepper plant? It seemed like a good idea at the time. But now you have more produce than you need.

Preserve the flavor and nutrition of asparagus to enjoy year round.

Try a bit of preventative care in this year’s garden. You’ll increase your landscape’s beauty and productivity with less work on your part.

Get the family involved and look for fun, quick and easy ideas for decorating your Thanksgiving or fall dinner table.

Don’t throw away or recycle those fast food containers just yet. Reuse them when gardening indoors and out.

Grow the main ingredient for a classic, delicious, and family favorite – rhubarb pie.

Be a part of history and save money when planting next year’s garden. Collect and save the seeds from your favorite heirloom tomatoes this fall.

Be a part of history and save money when planting next year’s garden. Collect and save the seeds from your favorite heirloom tomatoes this fall.

Increase seed starting success and fun with the sealed lid method my friend and horticulturist Bob Polomski learned from his father.

Get rid of the fence dividing yours and your neighbors’ yards. Instead create a beautiful garden you both can enjoy.

Do you have trouble properly spacing the small seeds of carrots, radishes or lettuce? It's easy to end up with half the package in one short row. This is a waste of seed and time spent thinning.

Don’t panic if your garden plans are bigger than the available planting space. I have some space saving techniques that can help you get the most out of your landscape.

Add a bit of color and fragrance to your entryway with a spring container garden.

All your hard work is paying off with an abundant harvest. Then, one day you notice your squash plants are wilted and near death.

Save money and your plants from disease by growing in pathogen-free potting mix.

Don’t let the calendar stop you from gardening. There is still time to plant vegetables for you and your family to enjoy.

Fall has many of us scrambling to protect plants from frost, move tropicals indoors or finish harvesting our vegetables. Be sure you collect a few green tomatoes to ripen indoors.

Try a Native American tradition of planting corn, squash and beans - the three sisters’ method - together in your garden this year.

You waited all season for that first red ripe tomato only to discover less-than-perfect fruit. But don’t worry, you can still have a great harvest and improve things for next season.

Start the New Year with a good luck meal of black-eyed peas and cabbage.

You’ve got the car packed, the pets at the kennel and your kids are ready to go. But what are you going to do about all those beautiful containers?

Get your garden off to a winning start by including a few All-America Selections winners in this year’s garden.

Celebrate “What’s on my Plate Day” and surprise your family with a plate full of nutritious vegetables. Serve ‘em cooked up as ratatouille, chopped and mixed in a stir-fry or tossed in a tasty salad.

Add a bit of greenery to your front steps, window box or patio with a winter container.

The National Garden Bureau has declared 2013 the Year of the Watermelon.