Hartley Magazine

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

Back to magazine

At Hartley Botanic we have a good relationship with many knowledgeable garden writers both in the UK and USA – here you can enjoy reading their articles and gardening tips

Call us on

781-933-1993

Or Request a call back

Jellyfish in the Glasshouse — Great Ideas from the Northwest Flower & Garden Festival

I’m always a fan of the display gardens at Seattle’s Northwest Flower and Garden Festival because they offer inspiration for creative ideas to take home and try. This year “Dreamscapes by the Sea” featured a Hartley Victorian glasshouse with double porticos that allowed showgoers to walk right through. It was nestled into a lush garden […]

Forces of Nature in Garden Design

Sowing seed is the triumph of hope over experience, especially when seasonal conditions are wildly variable: Getting started takes a knock on the head as spring’s promise turns back to dour winter on a random schedule. Yet, growlights, warming pads, warm sweaters and other scientific advances aimed at greenhouse growing encourages us to get on […]

Growing Artichokes in New England

Here in coastal Rhode Island, I live in the US Department of Agriculture’s Plant Hardiness Zone 7a. This zone has a medium-length growing season and winter temperatures that, at their coldest, can drop to between 0° and 5°F. This makes growing artichokes outdoors difficult. These plants prefer a more temperate climate because most set buds […]

Weather is Coming—Will We Be Prepared?

I was all set to write about the latest Hartley greenhouse that will be gracing Seattle’s Northwest Flower & Garden Festival—next month I will bring you that—but now, life (and the weather) has interfered with my plans. So many parts of the country have been devastated by unprecedented winter storms. Where I live, just outside […]

Why Do Plants Look Good in the Store and Then Do Badly at Home?

When you go to a garden center, the plants look wonderfully healthy and vigorous, so you buy lots of them. But upon taking them home and planting them in your greenhouse or garden, they may gradually begin to fade. First their growth may slow; then they may stop flowering; and finally they may start to […]

Christmas Trees Wanted: dead or alive?.

 The holiday season is upon us and in the Clarke residence it shows its face with the resurrection and plugging in of the Psychedelic Christmas Tree. As a couple of old groovers, this totem has particular significance, marking our first Christmas in Iowa in a rental and not knowing a soul in the state. […]

Christmas Trees Wanted: dead or alive?

 The holiday season is upon us and in the Clarke residence it shows its face with the resurrection and plugging in of the Psychedelic Christmas Tree. As a couple of old groovers, this totem has particular significance, marking our first Christmas in Iowa in a rental and not knowing a soul in the state. […]

Starting Asparagus in Your Greenhouse

About twenty-five years ago I bought some asparagus roots, planted them and waited to enjoy the stalks. The bed has provided fresh asparagus since that time. Every year, I add more seaweed and well-rotted horse manure or compost to the bed and have been rewarded every spring with fresh asparagus. But now I find that […]

Carnivorous Plants

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. […]

Plants Do Wheelies Between Greenhouse and Home

One of the traditional benefits of a greenhouse is to supply your home with dĂ©cor—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 […]