Gardening Insights

Back in the late summer of 2020, the garden borders here at SpruceShake were completely dominated by towering Russian Mammoth and Velvet Queen sunflowers. They were absolutely breathtaking. But as autumn approached and the heavy flower heads began to droop, I couldn’t stand the thought of just tossing them into the compost bin.I wanted to

When we first launched SpruceShake back in 2015, the Pink Princess Philodendron (Philodendron erubescens) was the absolute unicorn of the houseplant world. Cuttings were selling for outrageous prices, and every indoor gardener was chasing after that striking, bubblegum-pink and deep green variegated foliage. When I finally got my hands on one, I was honestly terrified

If you want to add a massive, bold touch of the tropics to your home, look no further than the Schefflera. Commonly known as the “Umbrella Tree” due to its sweeping, circular leaf clusters, this plant has been a houseplant staple for decades. Back in 2018, someone abandoned a tall, incredibly leggy Schefflera in the

A few years ago, I almost gave up on growing broccoli in my raised beds. Every single summer, the cabbage moths would find them, and within a week, hundreds of tiny green caterpillars would decimate my beautiful plants. Then, I learned an old-school gardening secret: I stopped planting my broccoli in a single, solitary row

If you want to instantly turn your backyard into a bustling sanctuary for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, there is one plant that outshines almost all the rest: Bee Balm (Monarda). I learned this firsthand a few years ago when we were expanding the pollinator borders here at SpruceShake. I planted a single, small pot of

Back in 2015, when we were first establishing the garden beds that eventually inspired SpruceShake, I wanted a background plant along our wooden fence line that was tall, bold, and practically indestructible. I planted a dozen Tiger Lily bulbs, watered them, and largely forgot about them. Fast forward to mid-summer, and those massive, six-foot stems

There is a lot of confusion in the gardening world about the “Bird of Paradise.” When most people hear the name, they picture the broad-leafed, tropical houseplant with orange and blue flowers. However, during my travels through the arid Southwest, I discovered a completely different beast: the Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana). Unlike its