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 small dog with white and brown fur sits in front of a colorful mix of pink, orange, and yellow ruffled flowers with bright petals showing a garden with plants that are resistant to dog pee.

Plant Problems

11 Dog Pee-Proof Plants for Your Yard

It’s not pretty, but planning for our dogs’ outside time gives the best chance of healthy plants for our gardens. After all, the pups may be the most important users of our landscapes. Sturdy, dog-urine-resistant selections offer a foundation for growth despite regular stops along the canine walking route.

A stem with Spider mites roses with the flower head covered in a white material with insects littered on the surface with a yellow green background

Shrubs

How to Get Rid of Spider Mites on Roses

It’s late summer, and spider mites may be cropping up on our favorite ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables. Roses in hot, dry situations are no exception to the common garden pests. Gardening expert Katheirne rowe explores how to minimize the spider mite population on roses and their damage, too.

Top view of female hands in colorful gloves planting a lush bunch of pink layered chrysanthemums in gray-brown soil beside a bright red watering can, showing where to plant mums.

Flowers

Where to Plant Garden Mums So They Come Back Every Year

Hardy garden mums are a joy in the garden. They grow unsuspectingly all season until bursting into bloom in late summer and fall. The easy-care perennials are worthy of a permanent spot for seasons of recurrent color. Gardening expert Katherine Rowe explores where to plant mums to experience their carefree perennial delight.

A round head of purple and blue leaves, partially enclosed by large, waxy outer leaves with purple veins, is a classic example of fall cabbage varieties.

Seeds

9 Cabbage Varieties We’re Sowing Now for Fall

Whether crispy and crunchy or soft and tender, a full head of cabbage is a thing of beauty. Easy to grow, the crop goes far in the kitchen and, depending on the type, stores well for future enjoyment. Gardening expert Katherine Rowe explores top-performing, flavorful, nutrient-rich cabbage varieties to sow now for an autumn harvest.

Male hand holding dry, brown hollyhock seed heads with papery husks, ready for seed saving.

Seeds

How to Collect and Save Hollyhock Seeds

Hollyhocks grace the back of the border, foundation planting, and vase with unparalleled blooms. To enjoy more of our favorites, collecting and saving seeds is a straightforward process. Sowing is easy, too. Gardening expert Katherine Rowe outlines how to save hollyhock seeds to extend the delight.

A lovely plant wall with thriving foliage of various colors, placed near bushes with pretty blooms

Ornamental Gardens

How To Create a Showstopping Plant Wall

Growing vertically maximizes space while enriching a living or garden area. They screen structures with dynamic visual appeal and limitless arrangements. Explore plant wall inspiration with gardening expert Katherine Rowe to energize our vertical realms.

A close-up shot of a composition of pink flowers with a monarch butterfly feeding on its nectar, showcasing the sweet Joe Pye weed

Ornamental Gardens

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Sweet Joe Pye Weed

Sweet Joe Pye weed and its massive domed blooms beckon the butterflies. The North American native makes a striking addition to the border or naturalized landscape and needs little tending to thrive. Gardening expert Katherine Rowe explores the merits of the handsome Eutrochium purpureum and its big show late in the season.

Rounded, full blossoms with layered pink and magenta petals adding vibrant color to a dry garden.

Gardening Tips

What You Can Plant Now to Wake Up a Tired, Dry Garden

By late summer, our star performers have expended a lot of energy growing, blooming, and producing, and may look a bit weary. Coupled with fluctuating weather like high heat and dry spells, the garden benefits from a refresh. Gardening expert Katherine Rowe explores easy selections to plant now to revive the late-season garden.

Tall green stems with narrow serrated leaves topped with white-petaled blooms and yellow centers, one of the allergy flowers to avoid in the garden.

Flowers

Don’t Plant These 9 Flowers if You Have Allergies

With millions of allergy sufferers worldwide, not inviting the most allergy-inducing plants in our immediate environment may increase our outdoor enjoyment. Flowers that produce a high amount of wind-dispersed pollen can incite our allergic response. High fragrance, too, brings a reaction for some. To minimize the big world of allergens, gardening expert Katheirne Rowe explores flowers to skip in the home garden for those with sensitivities.