Martha Stewart in a yellow blouse - 1
  • Why Leave Dahlias in the Ground?
    1. Start With a Thick Mulch Blanket
    1. Add a Weather Shield
    1. Don’t Forget About Drainage
    1. Mark Your Clumps for Spring
  • What to Expect When the Weather Warms
  • A Gentle, Sustainable Way to Garden

Sarah is a lifestyle and entertainment writer with over a decade of experience covering everything from celebrity news to home and style trends. Her work has appeared in outlets including Bustle, The Everygirl, Hello Giggles, and Woman’s Day. When she’s not writing about the latest viral moment, she’s cultivating her love of gardening and bringing a storyteller’s eye to all things green and growing.

close up of bougainvillea blooms - 2
  • Can a Bougainvillea Stay Outside in Winter?
  • Is Winterizing Necessary?
  • Bougainvillea Winter Care
  • What to Do in Spring
  • FAQ

Teo Spengler is a master gardener and a docent at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, where she hosts public tours. She has studied horticulture and written about nature, trees, plants, and gardening for more than two decades, following a career as an attorney and legal writer. Her extended family includes some 30 houseplants and hundreds of outdoor plants, including 250 trees, which are her main passion. Spengler currently splits her life between San Francisco and the French Basque Country, though she was raised in Alaska, giving her experience of gardening in a range of climates.

panicle hydrangea in snowy yard  - 3
  • Hydrangea Cold Tolerance
  • What Is Winter Kill?
  • How to Prepare Hydrangeas for Winter
  • Hydrangea Winter Care
  • Winterizing Potted Hydrangeas
  • Can I Prune Hydrangeas in Winter?
  • Shop Winterizing Essentials

Mary Ellen Ellis has been gardening for over 20 years. With degrees in Chemistry and Biology, Mary Ellen’s specialties are flowers, native plants, and herbs.

  • Teo Spengler Writer
  • Molly Lavins Writer
mandevilla on a windowsill  - 4
  • Benefits of Overwintering Mandevilla
  • How to Overwinter a Mandevilla
  • What to Do in Spring
  • FAQ

Tonya Barnett has been gardening for 13 years. Flowers are her passion. She has transformed her backyard into a cut flower garden, which she regularly chronicles on her YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/@tonyawiththeflowers.

  • Mary H. Dyer Writer
  • Laura Walters Content Editor
Dead poinsettia - 5
  • The Cold-Shock Killer: Why It Happens
  • How Cold Damage Shows Up
  • Protecting on the Trip Home
  • Finding the Right Spot Indoors
  • Watering and Light
  • Long-Term Care for Next Year

Tyler’s passion began with indoor gardening and deepened as he studied plant-fungi interactions in controlled settings. With a microbiology background focused on fungi, he’s spent over a decade solving tough and intricate gardening problems. After spinal injuries and brain surgery, Tyler’s approach to gardening changed. It became less about the hobby and more about recovery and adapting to physical limits. His growing success shows that disability doesn’t have to stop you from your goals.

dahlia tubers that have been lifted and left on grass to dry - 6
  • What Dahlias Need in Fall
  • Why Not Leave Tubers in Ground?
  • When it’s Safe to Leave Tubers
  • When it’s Better to Lift
  • What to Remember if You Lift

Mary Ellen Ellis has been gardening for over 20 years. With degrees in Chemistry and Biology, Mary Ellen’s specialties are flowers, native plants, and herbs.

  • Amy Draiss Digital Community Manager
dahlia flower heads decaying on compost heap - 7
    1. Make Sure Dahlias Have Finished Flowering
    1. Cutting Dahlias Back in the Fall
    1. Lifting and Storing Dahlias
    1. Replanting Dahlias in Spring
  • FAQs

Tonya Barnett has been gardening for 13 years. Flowers are her passion. She has transformed her backyard into a cut flower garden, which she regularly chronicles on her YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/@tonyawiththeflowers.