Teresa Woodard

This Cottage in Southeast Wisconsin Has the Yard Every Gardener Dreams About

Nebraska landscape expert Benjamin Vogt advocates for more prairie—and less lawn—to support wildlife across the Midwest. He's turned his yard into a little piece of prairie that requires little water and only has to be mown once, in the spring. Here's why he advocates for prairie yards, and advice on starting your own.

A sustainability expert suggests tough-as-nails perennials, shrubs, and trees for the Midwest—including salvia, coneflower, geraniums, goldenrod, and catmint—plus tips for how to garden through climate change.

These 13 low-maintenance flowers deliver bright colors without strenuous work or upkeep—perfect for any gardener. The list comes from expert Jonathan Wright, director of the Indianapolis art museum's park and gardens, and includes rose varieties, alliums, clematis, nigella, breadseed poppies, and more.

From a Midwest horticulture pro: 10 favorite annual plants with long-lasting color, including salvia, lantana, cleome, coleus, and portulaca. These these in your garden bed as well as container pots and window boxes.

When it's time to plan (and plant) your garden, head to any of these destination garden centers for inspiration, quality plants, and expert advice. Our top picks include Ohio's Groovy Plant Ranch, Tangletown Gardens in Minneapolis, Bowood Farms in St. Louis, and Detroit Garden Works in Sylvan Lake, Michigan.

What are the best plants for an English-style garden in the Midwest? To find the answer, we visited a home garden in Detroit, where freelance photographer Emily Berger plants roses, peonies, salvia, irises, and more. These are 15 of her favorite plants for a nostalgic, fragrant, and layered landscape—plus growing and sourcing tips.

In Detroit's East English Village neighborhood, photographer Emily Berger has cultivated a gorgeous English-style cottage garden surrounding her brick Tudor-style home. In late spring and early summer, it's full of David Austen roses, peonies, bearded irises, alliums, salvia, lilacs, and more.

Green is a familiar leaf color, but green as a flower color surprises. Gwen Meyer of Coriander Kitchen and Farm in Detroit shares her 12 favorite green flowers, in shades from emerald to lime.

Hans Hansen, a horticulturist in southwest Michigan, plants lavish borders to make his corner lot shine. He blends colorful, bold perennials such as crape myrtle and allium with distinctive shrubs and evergreens, including yuccas, Mangaves, weeping Norway spruce, arborvitaes, and weeping cedars.