Beautiful Gardens winner Beverly Moore shares her gardening tips:
Push the zone: "I cheat all the time," she said. "I'm from the South [North Carolina]. I always want to grow things I can't."
But accept your limits: "I'm a sucker for rhododendrons and azaleas," she said. "But every one I tried was a disaster." She finally concluded that her alkaline clay soil was just not designed for nurturing those plants. She settled on hardy magnolias, which are thriving.
Transplant freely: "I care a lot about form, and I study shapes," Moore said. If a plant doesn't look right where it's planted, she digs it up and moves it. "I don't care if it's August."
Plant densely: "There's less room for weeds."
Educate yourself: Moore reads a lot, but there's no substitute for hands-on learning, she's found. "It's total trial and error. Many trials, many errors."
