Hartley Magazine

All the latest news, hints, tips and advice from our experts

5 tips to liven up your Greenhouse

Outside,Oregon gray skies dump cold and windy rain-it’s that moment of no-color, before spring’s panoply of blossoms. But inside my sunroom, I’m greeted with colors-not only shades of green, but reds, yellows, blues and bright whites. This month I celebrate my top reliable winter bloomers for greenhouse or sunny windowsill. These are the toughest survivors […]

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A Waterwise Irrigation Hybrid—Why You Need Sprinklers and Drip Combined

The summer’s too dry, or the summer’s too wet—weather swings across the U.S. are dramatic. Now more than ever, gardeners should consider steady and efficient water delivery for the times when plants need it. In the past, a permanent installation involved a choice—either underground pipes with sprayer heads, or drip with flexible half-inch pipe and […]

A Bird Feeding Quiz – How well do you provide for your avian visitors?

In the colder months, birds bring color and motion to gardens at rest, whether you watch them from a kitchen window or enjoy their antics through the glass of a cozy greenhouse. When I have questions about feeding my winged denizens, I turn to Dan Gleason, owner of Wild Birds Unlimited in Eugene. Dan taught […]

A Bouquet of Winter Bloomers for Greenhouses

Before all our minutes are swallowed by the holidays, and while there’s still space in the greenhouse—pending the onslaught of spring seedlings—let’s consider a special winter bonus for greenhouse-owning gardeners—the privelege of enjoying winter-blooming plants! All the plants suggested below will thrive in bright sun and cool temperatures—ideally between 40 and 50 degrees. Remember that […]

Acclimatizing Indoor Plants for a Summer Outside

Finally—after a notably cold spring, it’s time to shift my sun room plants outdoors. Over the years I’ve noticed that certain plants make the move more easily than others. Some show their displeasure by dropping leaves (the brunfelsia), getting sticky indoors before winter’s end (the Meyer lemon) or simply not thriving outside (the dracaena). So […]

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Achimenes, Hot-water plants

A glasshouse gem often seen on a kitchen window sill is the Hot-water plant with its long flowering display of pastel trumpet blooms. Related to Gloxinias several dozen species were introduced from Central America in the late 18C early 19C. These were tropical plants requiring hot house conditions and were soon hybridised to be more […]

A Classic Courtyard—Why this oldest of garden designs still works today

If you’re a gardener like me, who read The Secret Garden as a child, the longing for a place of enclosure was planted early. Of course, a greenhouse is one of the best ways to satisfy our desire for an indoor/outdoor life-among-the-plants kind of space. Another is a courtyard. I was reminded of this recently […]