Rebekah Pierce

Rebekah Pierce started a small farm with her husband in 2016 in upstate New York, near her native Adirondack Mountains. With a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in special education, she has been writing professionally since 2017, but only recently left the world of teaching to pursue writing and farming full time.

Add Color to Your Shade Garden with 15 of the Best Astilbe Varieties

A horizontal image of a number of different varieties of astilbe growing in a perennial border with pink, red, and white flowers.

Astilbes provide a range of color options for the shade garden, and they look lovely when planted in tight groups. They offer a range of sizes and bloom times, appearing any time from late spring to late summer and provide reliable interest and appeal to your landscape. Discover 15 favorite astilbe varieties in our guide.

How to Grow and Care for Barberry Bushes

A close up horizontal image of different colored barberry shrubs growing in the garden. The one on the left has burgundy foliage and on the right, light green.

Found in most temperate and subtropical regions of the world, barberry bushes are robust evergreen or deciduous shrubs with bright green, red, orange, or burgundy foliage. Versatile and easy to grow, these shrubs are ideal as foundation plantings or standalone specimens. Learn how to plant and grow barberry in your garden.

How to Plant and Grow Red Tip Photinia

A close up horizontal image of the bright red foliage of P. x fraseri growing in sunshine.

Red tip photinia is a broadleaf evergreen shrub with vibrant red and dark green foliage. Tough and vigorous, these ornamentals are easy to grow, and provide year round interest and functionality in the landscape as a hedge or privacy screen. Learn how to plant and grow red tip photinia in this guide. Read more now.

How to Grow and Care for Boxwood Shrubs

Boxwood shrubs are classics in the garden, first planted in the United States in the 1600s. They’re also easy to care for and add visual appeal to any landscaping design. Many boxwood shrubs are also disease-resistant, making them the perfect choice for gardeners interested in low-maintenance landscaping. Read more.