Did you Get Lost in the Garden?

Despite what the weather may lead us to believe Spring will arrive soon. Maybe it will help us believe it if we repeat that phrase: Spring will arrive soon! (Repeat as needed) It’s March and during March we can expect a number of tumultuous and turbulent weather systems that will toy with our psyche. Have faith gardeners because spring and the gardening…

Over the years I have grown many plants. I have a bit of a collectors attitude toward my garden and pick out unique plants as much as possible. Some of those plants haven’t done well for me, but other plants have simply been amazing. I thought it would be a good idea to go back and look at some of…

This year one of the tomato varieties I decided to grow was the ‘Tasmanian Chocolate’ tomato. Overall it proved to be a tasty and easy to grow tomato. The ‘Tasmanian Chocolate’ tomato is a determinate variety that is well suited for growing in pots. It grows to about 3 feet tall, at least the plant I grew did in my…

You all know how much I like making new plants, but you should also know that I really like it when plants make it easy for the propagator. Many plants do just that by creating aerial roots that normally will be used to grab onto surfaces and climb. Vining plants (of course) are especially good at this like my Winter…

Low maintenance and hard working, it’s hard to go wrong with zinnias in the home garden! Zinnias have colors cover nearly any shade you could ask for in the spectrum. There are even varieties with multiple colors although I don’t have any of those in my garden. Zinnias are extremely easy to cultivate and just need a little water to…

Spring is officially here!  Spring’s arrival means it is really time to be thinking about the garden (as if we haven’t been since fall).  It’s always important to get the spring gardening season off to a great start.  Today let’s look at a few garden tasks that need done to help get your garden going. 5 Garden Preparation Chores and…

Back in the fall I collected quite few seeds heads from our heucheras for the purposes of growing more heucheras this spring. Heucheras don’t necessarily come true if grown from seed but some do like ‘Palace Purple’. ‘Palace Purple’ is easily reproduced from seed which is probably why it is the cheapest of the heucheras and most easily found throughout…

Among many potential plants a gardener should consider in the garden are ground covers. Groundcovers allow you to fill in areas of the garden for a lush seemless scene. One such groundcover that is very low maintenance is liriope and in this post I’m specifically talking about Liriope muscari ‘Variegata’.  There are other varieties of liriope that aren’t as attractive…

This weekend’s weather was a sign that there really is a light at the end of this dark tunnel we call winter – and it’s not another trains headlight! Spring is coming and the warm weather that we’re having this week has me itching to get in the garden – which is exactly what I did over the weekend –…

Here are a few of the early March blooming flowers in my garden. Crocus, daffodil, and forsythia. The forsythias have burst into full bloom since the picture was taken!

Yesterday MeemsNYC asked me in the comment section of my What Would Thanksgiving Be Without the Nuts? Plant them of course! I gathered up a small box of acorns and brought them home with me from my in-law’s house. You’re probably wondering why would he gather up a bunch of acorns to plant when they self sow readily on their…

I was inspecting the Birdbath Garden the other day when a persistent buzzing sound became noticeable. I looked around a little closer and found this little bee happily buzzing among the stalks of the salvia. No wonder I like these plants! They are magnets for these happy little pollinators. This bee buzzed from stalk to stalk sampling all it had…

Perennials are the work horse of just about every garden.  Trees and shrubs provide structure, but perennials provide a consistent impact.  Annuals are great for an instant punch but perennials give you a repeat performance year after year.  Some perennials bloom consistently through the season while others give a nice show for a short period of time.  Narrowing down the…

The daylilies (Hemerocallis) have begun their summer show appropriately on the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day. Maybe the lilies felt the need to pay tribute to all of our country’s veterans as we all should. These showy flowers are well known for their bountiful blooming abilities. Each flower only lasts a short period of time, about a day (imagine…

I had one of those extremely busy weekends.  The kind where you have so much to do you don’t know exactly where to start.  When you finally do start you discover that to do one task you have to do another task first. Then when you finally get going you move from one job, to another, to another, and there…

Talk about a great use of an old factory space. These two green roof gardeners took the roof of a bagel factory and turned it into a vegetable garden. It’s a very cool idea! Go take a look at the Rooftop Farm in Brooklyn!

Over the past month quite a few people have hit this blog searching for information on various topics. Sometimes their searches are in the form of a question and I thought it would be fun to go back and answer the questions. Most people looked for information with the word “how” but a few used “what”even fewer used “where” and…

This week had a couple of nice days that showed a hint of spring starting to emerge. It’s not there yet, in fact we’re far from it but officially and we’re 10 degrees below normal still (I feel like a broken record). The good news is that the sun has been out and the rains and snows have subsided somewhat…