A good friend and pretty experienced gardener recently asked me if it was too late to plant lettuce. Her question reminded me that there is considerable ambiguity about planting greens in the late summer/early fall. There shouldn’t be; September and October present perfect, in many years, the most perfect conditions for the germination and growth […]
When my husband and I moved to New York’s Hudson Valley, we weren’t really prepared for the deer. Our yard slopes steeply down to a creek on one end, and ends at a busy curve in the county road at the other. What deer in their right mind would want to deal with that? Well […]
Whether growing plants in greenhouses or out in the ground, it’s common to complain that we don’t have the space we need. The more I garden, the more I find that making the most of my gardening space is an enjoyable challenge. Some years produce greater success than others; here are some tips based upon […]
Whether growing plants in greenhouses or out in the ground, it’s common to complain that we don’t have the space we need. The more I garden, the more I find that making the most of my gardening space is an enjoyable challenge. Some years produce greater success than others; here are some tips based upon […]
I’d already planned to write about global warming when White Flower Farm’s e-mail scooped me! I suspect this subject has been sitting front and center in most northeastern gardeners’ minds since the weather of the past few weeks arrived. The upshot of WFF’s message is that based upon the latest Department of Agriculture study, we […]
They were everywhere around the holidays—at groceries and big box stores— but despite their ubiquitous availability, Amaryllis can still surprise us. First, consider their name—it turns out they might not really be Amaryllis at all. Although Carl Linnaeus created the epithet Amaryllis belladonna in 1753, it was originally applied to both South African and South […]
What can you enjoy in your winter greenhouse that requires little care the rest of the year? In a recent conversation with Scott Canning, Director of Horticulture at Wave Hill– the public garden in Riverdale, New York– I learned about some South African winter-blooming bulbs growing in Wave Hill’s conservatory this winter. Since South African […]
These gift ideas are for the gardeners on your list– some to inspire and others to help make the jobs at hand as light as they can be. Growing Tasty Tropical Plants In Any Home Anywhere by Byron Martin and Lauralynn Martin is guide written by the co-owners of Logee’s, the world-famous greenhouse operation in […]
It’s time to bring in the bounty we’ve grown outdoors and take stock of the season. In that spirit, I’m looking at the most successful new varieties I tried this season—the majority featuring compact, space-saving qualifications. One of the limiting factors in my gardening space is that I’m compelled to locate plants that deer eat […]
As the air turns crisp and winter casts a shadow on these early fall days, who can ignore the fact that everyday becomes shorter too? Will there be enough light on winter’s shortest days for your indoor plants? Although the quantity of solar radiation the earth receives just outside the atmosphere is nearly constant, the […]
It’s everywhere in the news—baby-boomers are aging. And coincidentally, there’s an increase in products that help aging bodies cope with gardening tasks. There are the scooters, like the “Deluxe Tractor Scoot,” which enables gardeners to work from a seated position, and “Gardener’s Kneelers,” which flips over to become a bench– both offered by Gardener’s Supply. […]
I began growing garlic many years ago; I’ve even won a blue ribbon for it at the county fair. Those were the days when I had an enormous vegetable garden and unlimited sunlight; now that my yard is smaller, and shadier too, I still make space for it. But as an adaptation to my new […]
