Small greenhouses – those under, say, 50 ft2 (4.65 m2) – often have great appeal because finding space for them is less of an issue. But still, even a small greenhouse can be a significant financial investment, and most gardeners want to get good value for their money. To help maximize that value, there are […]
When you move into your first house, you also move into your first garden. And for many people, that’s the scary part. If you’ve had so much as a bedroom of your own, you probably know how to shop for furniture (at least at Ikea) and how to paint a wall. But if you’ve never […]
I was trudging home from the drugstore on a sidewalk damp with melting snow under the weight of a February sky, and there they were: snowdrops. The flowers, not quite open, dangled from their delicate stalks above the gray mulch like little freshwater pearls. No long-stemmed rose in a florist’s shop can outshine a snowdrop. […]
After twenty years or so of giving talks and lectures about greenhouses and plants, I have found that there are a few questions that potential owners often ask. Probably the most common question is, ‘How large a greenhouse should I buy?’ If the questioner is an experienced gardener, my answer is, “Buy the largest greenhouse […]
A few weeks ago, Debra Prinzing and I met up when we were both speaking at the Good Earth Home and Garden Show in Eugene, Oregon. Debra’s the founder of SlowFlowers.com and producer and host of the Slow Flowers weekly podcast, whose main message is to buy your flowers locally and sustainably. But this time […]
The first full moon of 2020 fell on January 10. It was quite spectacular, like every full moon in the Southwest, from low desert to high plains, foothills to mountain tops. Sitting in my sunroom cum conservatory, peering out into the garden on a mild winter night, I was enchanted by the ethereal glow the silvery light […]
Orchids are probably the largest genus of flowering plants with nearly 30,000 species. Because these plants are fairly easy to hybridize there are somewhere around 100,000 hybrids. Orchids grow almost all over the world, yes, even in the arctic circle, but mostly they grow in tropical rain forests. That said, orchids can be found in […]
Water in the Western United States is a fast-diminishing resource. Just ask Cynthia Bee, Outreach Coordinator at the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District in Salt Lake City. Last summer, I got so excited when she shared the district’s new creative solutions for reducing water use through garden design. These tips can also save you other […]
When deciding where to put a greenhouse, the first question to ask is what do you plan to grow. If the answer is orchids, for example, your greenhouse should probably not be in bright sun for too many hours each day. On the other hand, if growing out-of-season vegetables is your goal, you’ll likely want […]
At the advent of solstice as I sit in my sunroom/conservatory, staring out over a snowy landscape that’s framed by a sapphire blue sky, with the sun beating down on the Rockies and the neighborhood buried under a foot of white fluffy stuff, thoughts turn to the coming year’s gardening: Will the Woodward junipers that […]
At this time of year, whether you’re gifting or getting, here are some unusual ideas to warm gardeners’ hearts. Tickets to Flower and Garden Shows Events like Seattle’s Northwest Flower & Garden Festival (Feb. 26-March 1) or the Philadelphia Flower Show (Feb.29-March 8) feature advance single-day tickets ($20–$35). For extravagance, purchase multi-day tickets because there’s […]
I’ve been baking, as one does at this time of year, and got a whiff of vanilla: sweet, rich, flowery. Of course, it’s the scent of a flower. I had seen the yellow flowers of the vanilla orchid, Vanilla planifolia, just days before at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. The vine, with its broad, […]
