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What gave Susan her black eye? Her central florets, that’s what. Black-eyed Susan flowers, blooming now and for the next few weeks, are actually made up of two kinds of florets, or small flowers. In the center of each flower are small, tubular flowers called disk florets. Those tubular petals are dark. Hence the black eye. But there’s more, botanically and horticulturally, of interest in growing this native flower, covered — as you might guess— in my latest blog post, here:

After a few years of gardening, I thought I had nailed down dates for various plantings, grafting, etc. But plants tell me that the climate has changed. The good advice I offered in my 1991 book "A Northeast Gardener’s Year" is still useful if dates are slightly shifted. More about this in my latest blog post:

Some vegetables growing the flower garden! Why not? A number of them look good enough to put on a show shoulder to shoulder with marigolds, roses, and delphiniums in the flower garden. Here’s a sampling of a few tasty, pretty vegetables; they are highlighted and pictured  in my latest blog post: