I’ve always been an organic gardener. Partly, it’s out of laziness—I’ll do just about anything—including pulling bindweed—before I’ll mix chemicals. Partly, it’s because over the years I’ve become more and more convinced that organic practices are better for me, my family, and everything living on this small patch of earth I’ve called home. However, organic […]

A thing the gardening life teaches you is that you’re never too old to learn. Each new climate zone I’ve gardened in has been an upward curve on the horticulture and landscape grid – and kept my synapses snapping. Figuring out how my first greenhouse worked in balmy Norfolk, England, prepared me for coping with […]

Many gardeners, stuck inside, are itchy to go shopping. Emails and catalogs arrive daily, the weather’s still too bad to do much outdoors, and after the pandemic, you have online ordering developed to a fine art. You’re ordering plants anyway, so why not add a tool or two? It’s worthwhile, though, to go shopping in […]

As I was moving an orange tree in my greenhouse a few weeks ago, whiteflies started flying around my head. These are one of the most common greenhouse insect pests. How do you know if you have them? Just hang a yellow sticky trap near one of your larger plants and then shake the plant. […]

It might be cold right now, but this is the time of year when gardening fever hits.  You want to plant something—NOW. And what better way to satisfy your cravings than to grow something to eat, protected from inclement temperatures and rough weather? Niki Jabbour knows all about that. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, […]

The other day I had the rare privilege of being the first human to hike down a woodland trail after a snowfall. It was just me and (to judge by the tracks) foxes, raccoons, deer, rabbits, squirrels, voles, wild turkeys and coyotes. Then I noticed something else against the pristine white: a scattering of seeds, […]

In a few weeks, many greenhouse owners will be buying and planting tomato seeds, and as always, they will be confronted with a bewildering array of varieties to choose from. They can buy hybrid or heirloom tomatoes, determinate or indeterminate ones, and these come in a vast array of sizes, colors, designated uses, and methods […]

I don’t know about you, but recently I have been feeling befuddled, not knowing what to turn to next to keep from sinking into the well of ennui. I sure do miss knocking around with friends and the freedom for a bit of rack-slapping-at-will, because you never know what sort of bargains you’ll find unless […]

In times of chaos, gaining control over even one tiny part of your life can be a positive experience. And organizing your garden shed or greenhouse is a great place to start. Organization is about efficiency. Can you find it when you need it? There’s a lot of advice out there, but here are some […]

Gardening is a distillation of hope: that seeds will sprout, saplings will survive, rain will come, a plant will bloom as beautifully as the picture in the catalog. It seems right to spread hope through the gift of gardening this holiday season, and there are plenty of easy ways to do it. Get kids started: […]

If you’ve just acquired a new greenhouse, what plants should you choose for it? This can be a tough decision for beginning greenhouse gardeners because of the great diversity of options available. The best approach may be to actually embrace that diversity. By this I mean picking one or two varieties from major categories of […]

Hasn’t this been a heck of a year? In my own far-off suburban corner of Colorado it hasn’t rained properly in many months. That didn’t prevent me from planting six resilient trees, a clutch of stalwart native shrubs and some 200 bulbs that seem to adore being parched. Hope springs eternal, or so it is […]