Posts By

Katherine Rowe

Katherine is a garden professional with a background in design, conservation, and public horticulture. She holds a master’s degree in landscape architecture and a love of gardens, parks, and natural lands alike. Katherine enjoys exploring gardens and wild spaces through work and travel and designing gardens with nature at the helm.

A close-up of a bright magenta flower with a drooping curved stem, partially bloomed, with a yellow clip attaching it to a support stick, set against a softly blurred background.

Plant Problems

7 Reasons Why The Buds Are Dropping From Your Orchid

Anticipating the exotic blooms from our tropical beauties only to have buds suddenly fall from the stem is disconcerting. But there’s hope for a flowering future. Orchid bud blast is a common response to the growing environment. With the right cultural conditions, the plant may recover to yield years of blooms. Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in exploring why orchids lose their buds and how to remedy the situation.

Close-up of a divided lavender bush with slender, woody stems and dense clusters of narrow, silvery-green leaves held in a man's hands against a garden backdrop.

Ornamental Gardens

How to Divide Lavender in 7 Steps

Dividing lavender is a bit tricky, but there are ways to propagate new plants through offshoots and segmenting roots and stems. Layering is a streamlined method of creating new divisions. Or, if your fragrant grower is in peril, you may want to consider dividing stems and roots to foster new growth. Explore the measures of dividing lavender with gardening expert Katherine Rowe.

A close-up of delicate lavender-hued blossoms growing on long green stems, with soft-focus purplish-blue flowers and foliage creating a serene, natural background.

Gardening Tips

13 Plants That Love to Be Divided

Dividing plants benefits the garden in a few ways: it restores vigor, controls size, and creates new additions with little effort. It’s a win-win-win for varieties that need dividing and for the gardener. Fall and spring are prime for the process. If you hope to beef up the display or spread the joy of sharing extra plants, explore the best perennials to divide with gardening expert Katherine Rowe.

A gardener waters a vegetable bed containing cabbage, dill, lettuce, and other plants using a hose with a spray nozzle.

Gardening Tips

9 Tips For Watering the Fall Garden

Fall is almost here, and with it, the reduced pressure of watering to beat the summer heat. But autumn is also prime time for adding new plantings, and some climates don't get enough rainfall to ensure proper root development. Gardening expert Katherine Rowe explores what to consider in fall watering sessions to establish thriving plants this season and beyond.

A vibrant blanket of small, bright purple flowers clusters together, forming a dense mat, with a few green leaves peeking through in the background.

Gardening Inspiration

25 Shade-Tolerant Lawn Alternatives To Plant In Fall

If you’re ready to reduce your lawn expanse or need to perk up bare areas where turf isn’t thriving, consider shade-loving alternatives. Robust, low-growing perennials happily infill shaded zones across varying conditions. From ultra-low groundcovers to durable uprights, these top performers enrich the garden with seasonal appeal and ecological services. Explore the breadth of shady lawn alternatives with gardening expert Katherine Rowe.

A dense cluster of vibrant pink blossoms covers the plant, with dark green leaves barely visible underneath.

Garden Pests

Do Chrysanthemums Provide Natural Pest Control?

Not only are chrysanthemums jewels of the fall display, they also boast a hidden talent. Hardy garden mums contain chemical extracts that repel and control common garden pests. Whether through aromatic flowers and foliage or concentrated insecticides, mums have versatile applications. Justify adding a few more to your autumnal arrangement to enjoy time outside and healthy plants. Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in exploring the underlying attributes of these fall favorites.

Close-up of little girl in pink jacket pouring kitchen waste into compost bin in autumn garden.

Composting

Composting with Kids: 7 Ways to Get Kids Excited About Compost

Young or old, composting is a wonderful way to observe natural processes, address food waste, and build healthy soils. It helps us participate in our foodways from start to finish. It’s easy, inexpensive, and productive. And there are tons of ways to involve your budding naturalist. Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in ideas to inspire kids to create their own garden gold.

An area covered in countless Virginia bluebells, having beautiful and dainty flowers with vivid green stems and leaves

Flowers

How to Plant, Grow, and Care For Virginia Bluebells

Virginia bluebells are a sweet welcome to spring and a graceful jewel of the shade garden. A North American native wildflower, this fleeting ephemeral provides a big show and pollinator resources in its short growing season. Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in exploring the beauty, surprise, and carefree qualities of this favorite perennial.

A person carefully positions a small leafy shrub into a freshly dug hole in the soil, surrounded by green plants and a grassy garden.

Shrubs

7 Signs It’s Time To Transplant Your Hydrangeas

Hydrangeas, the blooming glories of the summer garden, are durable, reliable performers in the right growing spot. If yours isn’t as bloom-worthy as it could be, is outgrowing its space, or exhibiting other signs of stress, it may be time to move to a better location. Explore the signs of when to transplant hydrangeas with gardening expert Katherine Rowe.

A group of rose chafer beetles cluster on pink rose blooms.

Garden Pests

Rose Chafer Beetles: Identification and Management

The chafer rose beetle loves roses as much as we do, but its palette doesn’t end there. They have a voracious appetite for the tender growth of flowers, buds, and leaves on many trees, shrubs, and perennials. Explore the indicators of this pest and signs of when to manage its spread with gardening expert Katherine Rowe.

A vibrant green lawn framed by neatly arranged shrubs and flowers, bordered by a stone path leading to a cozy corner surrounded by dense greenery.

Herbs

37 Herb Garden Design Ideas

Versatile designs and adaptable plants make it possible to grow herbs in various garden situations. Join gardening expert Katherine Rowe in exploring an array of herb planting designs to fit any space. Throughout the seasons, we’ll be clipping fresh, fragrant selections with abandon.