I was digging over a garden bed last week and dug out several Oriental lily bulbs. When you dig out âorientalâ or âAsianâ lilies, be sure to use a garden fork, not a spade. A spade will slice into the bulbs. These had not been dug for five or six years so it was time […]
Open the vents in your greenhouse on sunny December days, shutting them before temperatures drop early in the afternoon to retain the heat. Good air circulation is essential but chilling draughts should be avoided, so donât leave the door open or open the vents too far. It is a matter of getting it just right! […]
Itâs late fall, and the outdoor flowers are parched with frost, the leaves have fallen, the tropicals are in the greenhouse and the lawn has had its last cut. Now is the time to put away your garden power tools for winter. But in the urge to store everything, a big mistake can be made […]
Recently, I was invited to hike in the Oregon woods with a group of fern enthusiastsâseveral from the UK. The group was on a three-week botanizing road trip throughout the Northwest. When I caught up with them, they were picnicking trailside in a park near my house and talking Latin. Every other word was a […]
If youâre lucky enough to have a big conservatoryâand it isn’t too crowded with plantsâyou have a lovely setting for a holiday party. If itâs warm enough to overwinter houseplants, the glasshouse will be comfortable for people. And wouldn’t it be lovely for your guests to watch snowflakes fall from inside the glass? Youâre probably […]
Dahlias, with their brilliant-colored flowers in a variety of sizes and styles, are relatively easy to grow, but there are important tips to dahlia care, starting with how the tubers are harvested in fall. Dahlia tubers, from which new plants grow, cannot survive the winter outdoors in cold climates. They must be taken out of […]
Please note: this giveaway has now ended. Thank you to all who entered, and well done to Chase Darnall – our winner. What are your plans for celebrating Thanksgiving this year? Here at Hartley Botanic it is one of our favorite times of the year, and so we decided it was a great time to launch […]
Walls, terraces, paths, steps, soil, compost, wildlife habitats⌠second-hand and spoil heap slate can give you the makings of an entire garden. Bar the dreaming and hard graft, my garden owes its existence to an ancient and, given its dour demeanour, quite magical ingredient. Itâs very tangible, and itâs very heavy. Its straight lines run […]
Most of us have tried to grow an avocado (Persea americana) tree from seed. Although an avocado plant can be grown in any large, indoor room, itâs also does well in a heated greenhouse. Both heat and humidity must be kept fairly high for an avocado tree to thrive. To grow an avocado from seed, […]
Where would we be without water? I recently returned from California, where I got a sobering look at the possibilities. The drought there is a wakeup call for all of usâeven in places like Chicago or the East Coast that arenât suffering right nowâto think hard about how we use this precious resource. There are […]
Itâs always fun to grow at least one plant that makes visitors ask, âWhat is THAT?â Right now the horticulture trade is deciding which new offerings will appear in your retail garden center next spring, or in the seasons to come. This year I got to play a part in that process. I was one […]
Tropical herbs need warm temperatures to keep growing year round, making them perfect plants for a greenhouse thatâs heated during winter. I grow ginger, galangal, and lemon grass in my winter-heated greenhouse and use them to make delicious Thai food. Hereâs how to cultivate each of them. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) There are several different types […]
