Although most plants convert light energy to chemical energy by photosynthesis, not all obtain the nutrients they need through their roots. Many of those that don’t live in bogs where their roots are permanently in low-nutrient, poorly-drained soil. One adaptation in this environment is obtaining nutrients, especially nitrogen, by digesting insects that visit the plants. […]

The autumn foliage was quite something this year; the fact that along the Rockies, instead of going straight from summer to winter, we had a fine fall helped…in fact, it persists. The native grasses, especially the big bluestem; the one I grow, ‘Wind Walker’, went from steely blue to rusty red; a nearby golden yellow […]

One of the traditional benefits of a greenhouse is to supply your home with décor—particularly cut flowers—in the off seasons. This month, I’m talking to Nicholas Staddon, a garden expert with a deep knowledge of plants, and company spokesperson for Everde Growers, a nationwide wholesale company, that features a wide assortment of plants, from trees […]

Autumn in my corner of the Rocky Mountain’s Front Range arrived on the dot – October 14th – and so began the great garden clean up, starting with the windows of my ersatz Greenhouse. The space is glassed-in breezeway, but it serves a purpose adequately. But to make the most of winter’s weaker (but by […]

How much do you enjoy biting into a luscious, rich red strawberry? If the answer is greatly, you may want to grow your own strawberries in your greenhouse. Doing so isn’t difficult, and the results can be delectable. To get started, you need to decide what type of strawberry you want to grow. There are […]

It’s late August, and it’s hot, but my unheated greenhouse needs to be readied for winter vegetables. I’ve developed a method for getting this job done, one that not only adds nutrients to the soil but that also adds a natural heat source. Here’s what that method entails. I start by digging out the greenhouse’s […]

Some while ago visiting gardens on the east coast, I came upon a greenhouse that had a piece of seaweed hanging from its cornice. It woke a memory of my childhood in Ireland and staying at bed and breakfast near the sea. The owner would hang a long tendril of seaweed beside the back door […]

Autumn is arriving, night time temps are dropping. But your garden, especially your containers, have finally come into their own at the end of the season. You’d love to carry some of this beauty on inside a greenhouse. But how do you decide which ones should be sheltered? That’s a question C.L. Fornari examined in […]

Fall is a brilliant time for planting. The ground is still warm enough to encourage root growth, and the fierce battering of summer heat has lifted, which means less work for you. But there’s another reason autumn is the best time for both new plantings and the shaping of certain woody plants, either in the […]

Hasn’t this been the challenging summer? Here in the Rockies, we’ve experienced cool days and regular drenching rainfall seemingly every afternoon from June to July — the garden loved it! But. Unseasonable cool days and nightime temps below 50° were not a joy for the edibles: Were I growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, the harvest […]

In summertime, it’s hot and dry in much of America for extended periods of time, but plants still need water – typically lots of it. What’s more, keeping greenhouse plants watered in these extreme conditions is made even harder when local communities impose lawn and garden watering bans to conserve their rapidly depleting water resources […]

In the dog days of summer, entering the greenhouse is like entering a sauna. Working there, even with the door and windows open, is a form of masochism that even I balk at. But work in it I must. Although my 200+ plants have been moved outdoors, there are still summertime maintenance tasks to do […]