In life and gardening, we all make mistakes—sometimes, even when we know better. My big mistake this year (so far) was buying cheap potting mix. I understand perfectly well how important the quality of potting mix is to container plants in greenhouses, in the house, and outdoors. I know that the mix must be light […]
Every garden I’ve visited has taught me something new. Be it a tropical conservatory that reveals an exotic plant I’d never before seen, or a hard-working greenhouse that tutors me in a growing technique to raise better plants, it all makes for a smarter garden and gardener. For example, at Hunting Brook garden in Ireland, […]
How would you like to meet more of your neighbors, celebrate the bounty of your garden, forge new friendships on common ground, and strengthen your community ties? Dina Russell, gardener and founder of PlantShare®, believes plants can help you do all of that. “Think about it—the development of the original human society was created by […]
Because potting mediums rarely provide enough nutrients for long-term growth, most greenhouse plants need fertilization. Plants three main macronutrients (those needed in relatively large amounts) are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). On the fertilizer package, the proportion of each is given by a numerical ratio, with the order always being N to P […]
I was out in the garden on a bright spring day, enjoying the fresh green of the unfolding fern fiddleheads, the yellow of daffodils, the white of the bloodroot and purple of the sharp-lobed hepatica in my wildflower garden, the unfolding leaves of the native wild ginger, when something seemed … wrong. My Spidey sense […]
Glasshouses have long been pivotal to advances in architectural engineering, marrying old traditions with the new technological advances. For example, The Palm House, the centerpiece of the Royal Botanical Garden, Kew, opened in 1848 as a repository of the world’s plant diversity flooding in from all corners of the Empire and beyond. In 1851, Queen […]
A plant’s performance is often tied to the quality of the soil it’s growing in. According to Elizabeth Murphy, soil scientist, gardener, and author of Building Soil—A Down to Earth Approach, certain steps can be taken to modify garden soil. But what about purchased potting mixes that are the mainstay of containers, raised beds, and, […]
If you live in southern California, don’t read this. Agapanthus can grow year-round in warmer climates, but in Rhode Island it is an almost perfect greenhouse plant. While deciduous agapanthus can stand a light frost if their roots are well protected, the plant will be killed if the ground freezes. Evergreen plants have fleshier leaves […]
It must be spring: I’ve put in my order for the local native plant sale. Over the past few years, I’ve been adding native plants to my garden whenever I can. Many, such as the woodland wildflowers I nurture in my shady garden, are lovely. Native plants also support native animals—from insects to birds and […]
We gardeners are on the front line of climate change. With our hands in the soil, our striving to grow plants as best we can. Struggling with raising temperatures, lower water and freakish weather patterns can stymie the ardent efforts of the best green thumbs. These are global issues, but what’s to be done on […]
Imagine walking into a leafy greenhouse. There you find a group of plants, suspended in space, each growing out of a rounded ball of moss, and dancing lightly in the breeze—an utterly exquisite show. You’re looking at kokedama, an elegant Japanese bonsai technique for showing off superstar plants. Several years ago, Chance Justbe, a Pacific […]
This morning, as I waddled in my full-length puffy coat down the front walk amid the slabs of gray ice in my garden, I saw something amazing and heartening: the bud of a hellebore, trying to bloom under a dusting of snow. It’s a bold move for a flower, at 9 degrees F in early […]
