Moya Andrews

Jewel orchid's foliage guarantees a handsome house plant even when it is not in bloom.

A favorite house plant of many people is the hoya, an epiphyte vine that is commonly called wax plant.

Now that we have had our first frosts in the Midwest, I am thinking about what to plant next year.

Succulents are commonly known as "neglectable plants" for their ability to thrive in otherwise inhospitable conditions of little water and sunshine.

On today's Focus on Flowers, read the words of John Keats... "Ode to Autumn."

The smaller alliums bloom later than the giants. Try the ‘drumstick', a dark purple, which blooms in July and naturalizes well, or Allium ‘Moly Jeannine', which throws up 2 inch umbels of bright yellow florets in May. There are so many to choose from, and the more you have the more you will want.

If you garden in zones 5 through 9 and are looking for a small to medium shrub that has fall color, Itea virginica, commonly called Virginia Sweetspire, may be a good candidate. It has white flowers and grows well in shade or shine.

Winterberry produces a grand display of bright red berries that persist and light up its branches long after all of the leaves have fallen.

Take a good long look at your garden and think about how you want it to be next year. For example, do you need to reduce, increase, or alternate specific colors?

The autumnal equinox occurs during the third week of September. It is the time when the sun crosses the equator making day and night of equal length on all points of the earth. After the equinox in Autumn, the days grow shorter.