The charming blue blooms of monkshood, or Aconitum, present a lovely woodland contrast with the colorful foliage of a Japanese maple. (Courtesy of Gene Bush)
7:40 am ET -Monkshood, or Aconitum, is a perennial with two big advantages for gardeners: blue flowers and a very long blooming time that stretches from summer into winter.
Top Gardening (View all)
- Moss rocks
- Daikon radishes in the garden and in the kitchen
- Vertical gardens: The good, the bad, the ugly
- You'll learn a lot when you attend a rose show
- Peonies: For gorgeous flowers in spring, plant in fall
- Eyesore in the garden: Now you see it, now you don't.
- Hardy cyclamen: Its delicate appearance hides its toughness
- How to grow and cook sweet potatoes
- A damp stroll across Chicago’s front lawn
- Invasive plants: Where does one gardener begin?
More Gardening
-
Diggin' It
Garden design: A guide to curb appeal
A guide to giving your yard curb appeal that expresses your personality.
-
Diggin' It
Alpine strawberries: Perfect in foliage and in fruit
-
Diggin' It
How to grow and use cilantro
A gardener and a chef team up with advice on growing and using cilantro, including a Mexican-inspired recipe.
-
Diggin' It
An attractive fall wreath starts with a disliked vegetable
You don't have to like to eat okra to find it useful. Okra has beautiful flowers, and its dried pods are great in crafts, especially on fall wreaths.
-
Diggin' It
How to choose the best crab apple tree
When you're choosing a crab apple, it’s the fruits that matter, not the flowers. Fall is the time to select the best one for you.
- Diggin' It
Fall planting in southern California gardens
There's still plenty of time to plant flowers and vegetables in southern California gardens, but get started now.
-
Diggin' It
An encounter with black blister beetles
Black blister beetles enjoy making meals of maple-shaped leaves and cause problems when they infest hay.
-
Diggin' It
Is it time to try something new in the garden?
Are you in a gardening rut? Then it's time to explore something you haven't done before -- maybe floral design.
-
Diggin' It
How to grow and prepare cabbage
A gardener and a chef team up with advice on growing cabbage and cooking it in a mélange of vegetables to enhance its taste.
-
Diggin' It
Fall house cleaning -- birdhouses, that is
One fall house cleaning chore is done outdoors -- cleaning out birdhouses so they'll be ready for next year's occupants.
Become part of the Monitor community
36K on Facebook | 12K on Twitter | 2,250 on YouTube