Posts By

Dr. Liessa Bowen

Liessa started learning everything she could about plants, animals, and ecosystems at a young age. Since then, she's earned a Master’s degree in wildlife biology (Iowa State University) and a PhD in forestry (North Carolina State University), both with an emphasis on conservation biology and birds. She has worked as a greenhouse technician, wildlife biologist, educational consultant, and writer.

The jack-in-the-pulpit features a unique flower with a striped, hooded spathe enveloping a slender spadix, accompanied by three-parted, glossy green leaves.

Flowers

How to Plant, Grow, and Care For Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Are you looking for a unique and highly ornamental native wildflower for your shade garden? Jack in the pulpit is unusual, showy, and surprisingly easy to grow, given the right conditions. Does your shade garden have what it takes to grow a Jack-in the-pulpit? Keep reading to find out!

A dense canopy of deciduous trees fills the frame, their vibrant green leaves shimmering in the sunlight, contrasting against the clear blue sky in the background, evoking a sense of tranquility and natural beauty.

Trees

What’s the Difference Between Deciduous and Evergreen Trees?

You’ve probably heard the words deciduous and evergreen, but do you know what they mean and what types of trees they are? Trees are classified into various categories, including whether or not they lose their leaves each autumn. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen explains the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees.

A red-flowering currant, its vibrant leaves embracing clusters of delicate pink blooms, basks in the warm embrace of the radiant sun.

Shrubs

17 Best North American Native Shrubs For Your Garden

Do you want to diversify your landscape? By adding a few beautiful native shrubs, you can easily increase its structural diversity, color, and curb appeal. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces 17 of her favorite easy-to-grow and super-showy native shrubs.

dry shade plants including Corydalis lutea in the shade garden grow in lush clumps among the rocky landscape. Corydalis lutea's leaves are intricately dissected, resembling delicate fern fronds, while its flowers consist of multiple small, tubular blooms arranged in loose clusters, each bearing a bright yellow hue with hints of gold, creating a charming and airy appearance amidst the shaded and rocky garden landscape.

Ornamental Gardens

25 Best Plants For Dry Shade Gardens

Do you have one of those tough landscaping spots with both dry soil and shade? Fortunately, there are plenty of showy plants to fill the gaps in your shady locations, regardless of what soil type you have. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces 27 beautiful, drought-tolerant plants for your shade garden.

conifer types. The Cedrus libani, or Cedar of Lebanon, presents dense branches adorned with evergreen needle-like leaves, which are dark green and spirally arranged, culminating in large, barrel-shaped cones.

Trees

25 Types of Conifers for Home Landscapes

Are you considering a conifer to spruce up your yard? Conifers come in all shapes and sizes, from majestic towering trees to ground-hugging shrubs. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces 25 uniquely different conifers from around the world.

native edible plants. Close-up of a flowering Purple Passionflower plant, Passiflora incarnata, in a garden. Its palmate leaves, dark green and deeply lobed, serve as a backdrop for the stunning flowers. Each bloom boasts radial arrays of filaments surrounding a central fringed corona, exhibiting shades of purple and lavender, accented with delicate streaks and spots of contrasting hues. The fruit features a smooth, tough rind of green color.

Edible

21 Edible Native Plants: Growing a Native Food Garden

Do you enjoy both native plants and growing food crops? Did you know there are many beautiful native plants that you can also eat? In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces 21 fantastic native plants that have edible parts so you can grow a beautiful landscape and eat it, too.

A Yellow Long Neck fig branch, adorned with ripe yellow figs and lobed leaves, fills the foreground. Behind it, the sky wears a cloak of clouds, lending a serene backdrop to the natural beauty of the scene.

Fruits

How to Plant, Grow, and Care For Yellow Long Neck Figs

Are you looking for the perfect fig for your garden? The ‘Yellow Long Neck’ fig is just one of many fig cultivars that are ideal for a garden and landscape setting. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces ‘Yellow Long Neck’ figs and how you can grow your own delicious fruits!

Vivid red cardinal flowers stand tall against lush green foliage, their petals unfurling gracefully in the gentle breeze. A warm cascade of sunlight illuminates the intricate petals, enhancing their crimson hue.

Flowers

How to Plant, Grow, and Care For Cardinal Flower

Are you looking for an easy-to-grow plant for a moist plot in your garden? A cardinal flower will certainly brighten up your landscape with its vibrant, scarlet-red flowers. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen will discuss the proper care and maintenance of these spectacular plants.

View of various types of Conifers in the garden. Conifers, a group of cone-bearing trees and shrubs, are known for their iconic appearance characterized by needle-like or scale-like leaves, typically evergreen and often arranged spirally around the branches. These trees boast a wide variety of shapes and sizes, from towering pines with sturdy, straight trunks to graceful firs with sweeping branches. Their needle-like and scale-like leaves come in bright green, dark green and bluish-gray shades.

Trees

What is a Conifer?

Conifers are all around us, but what exactly are they? These trees play an important role in the ecosystem and the economy. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen gives a brief introduction to coniferous plants.

budget gardening. Close-up of a female gardener in denim overalls and a red plaid shirt digging soil in a garden bed using a garden trowel. The garden bed contains rows of Swiss Chard plants. Swiss chard plants showcase a vibrant and striking appearance with large, glossy bright green leaves and strong, succulent pale green stems.

Gardening Tips

31 Tips for Starting Your New Garden on a Budget

Are you excited about starting a new garden but intimidated by the potential cost? There are plenty of practical ways you can save money on your gardening project. Join thrifty gardening expert Liessa Bowen as she shares some of her favorite tips for gardening on a budget.

15 Varieties of Thyme For Your Garden

Herbs

15 Varieties of Thyme For Your Garden

Are you looking for some thyme to spice up your garden? You’ll be thrilled to know there are many beautiful, low-maintenance thymes to fulfill your landscaping needs. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces 15 fragrant varieties of thyme that you can easily grow with your herbs, vegetables, perennials, and even in containers!

native plants spring. Close-up of a flowering Echinacea purpurea plant in a spring sunny garden. Echinacea purpurea, commonly known as Purple Coneflower, boasts striking daisy-like flowers with prominent, raised centers surrounded by vivid, purple petals that gracefully reflex downward.

Ornamental Gardens

21 Native Plants to Sow in Spring

It’s never too late or too early to sow some wildflower seeds, but spring is an ideal time to start many native plants from seed. There are some beautiful flowers and grasses that you can start early in the spring and even enjoy flowers in the first year. In this article, gardening expert Liessa Bowen introduces 21 native plants you can sow in the springtime.