Gardens are made of memory: of people, places, plants and all that nature offers us in such bounty that we do our best to hold it close in our personal spaces. This September, as I look out on my start-up prairie, formerly known as the front lawn, I remember a person who had more impact […]

In New England, heating a greenhouse in winter makes the difference between being able to grow citrus trees or tropical herbs and flowers versus growing only plants that can tolerate cold and even an occasional freeze. For many greenhouse owners in northern climates, growing the tropical and semi-tropical options is just too tempting. This means […]

The other day I almost picked a quince. It was an incidental quince:  The Japanese flowering quince shrub it was growing on had been planted for stunning coral-and-white spring flowers, not for fruit. However, the plant hadn’t gotten that memo and had developed half a dozen substantial, apple-like fruits anyway. Unfortunately, the shrub wasn’t mine, […]

At this back-to-school season, it’s time to study—what gets an A in your garden and greenhouse, and what rates an F? Take notes on both the perfect and the problem areas. Then you can hunt for plants that fit into these two categories. If, say, your foxgloves were a glory, find more for next year. […]

We all know that people who live in glasshouses shouldn’t throw stones. Well, I have a new twist on that old proverb: People who have glass greenhouses shouldn’t use a string trimmer nearby. An unfortunate incident taught me this lesson. Last spring, I decided not to weed between the slate stones of the patio that […]

It’s been said that if you have a view you don’t need a garden. Tell that to my plantaholic friend, she who inhabits a houseplant jungle on the top floor of a loft building with views of Pike’s Peak—if you can see it through the foliage. Of course, the walls are mostly windows, making the […]

The other day I strolled along a path between plants as tall as my shoulders, like a sea of green grasses with colorful swells of yellow coneflowers and black-eyed Susans, white ironweed and Indian plaintain, purple milkweed, and orange butterfly weed. Butterflies twinkled–monarchs, painted ladies, swallowtails—and bumblebees plodded from flower to flower. On the marsh […]

I’m always pleased when I discover beautiful ornamental plants in my garden that are also delicious to eat. So, last month, at a Hardy Plant Study Weekend in Portland, OR, I was happy to attend a presentation by Stacey Hirvela called “Incidentally Edible.” Stacey is a marketing specialist for Proven Winners Colorchoice Shrubs, and the […]

You can easily grow your own greenhouse mango tree. If you decide to grow a mango the first step is to find a suitable mango. Most mangoes grown in America, according to the National Mango Board (www.mango.org) are either ‘Tommy Atkins’ or ‘Palmer.’ Tommy Atkins has slightly green and orange-red skin than does Palmer, which […]

In the hottest July on record, you might expect me to be sweating about watering my plants enough so they can keep cool. But thunderstorms have been taking care of that. Instead, what I’m steamed about is winter hardiness. Brrrr! The issue of hardiness has been on display the summer in my hydrangeas. I have […]

Part of the delight in growing hardy cactus, for me anyway, comes in not having to move pot-grown specimens into the conservatory as the temperature drops. The hardy sorts of opuntia (aka prickly pear cactus) are especially attractive and common throughout the intermountain and prairie regions of the West. Opuntia aurea, hardy from Zone 5-10, […]

I love the feeling of time travel that comes with visiting restored gardens. One of my favorites is Aspet—a garden designed around the home of artist and sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907). The 30-acre garden and 200-acre grounds are now a National Historical Park in New Hampshire. When I visit gardens like this, one question always […]