Gardening Articles, Tips and How-tos
Garden smarter with our library of articles written by our team of expert gardeners. Daily posts include everything from beginner gardening tips to in-depth articles on botany and landscaping.
How to Build and Use a Cold Frame
First you'll need to choose the correct location for your cold frame. As is the case with most gardens, you want it to have full sun. Have it face south as much as possible. Choose an area that has good drainage and that gets some protection from icy winds. Read More
How to Build a Greenhouse Out of Old Windows
We've all seen them?discarded windows from remodeling or structural demolition. They may be in your neighbor?s yard, near a construction site or even in your own garage, but these old panes still have a purpose. Read More
Five Ways Your Family Can Transition Your Summer Garden Into Fall
Cooler nights and lower daytime temperatures make September a great month for gardening with your kids. Before you get started, be sure to get your children some kid-sized garden gloves and some real -- not the toy plastic kind -- kid-sized tools. Children always like to do real work with the real equipment, just like we do. Read More
Hops Growing 101
The varieties of hops are mind boggling. There are around 100 different types currently available and more being developed all the time. Most hops come from Germany, England, or the Pacific Northwest and many varieties are available to the home gardener who would enjoy growing hops for their own home brew. Read More
Tropical Looking Plants That Will Grow Anywhere
You don't have to live in the tropics to enjoy a tropical escape in your own backyard. Read More
Fields of Flowers - Planting a Meadow
How would you like to put away your mower for an entire year? Set your flowers free - plant a wildflower meadow. Late summer is the best time of year to plant a meadow. Your initial effort will be amply rewarded, with countless more hours of gazing at flowers. Read More
10 Steps to a Fire Pit
Make summer and fall nights last longer with a beautiful fire pit. Fire pits contain the flames while also providing a landscaping feature to any outdoor space. Designed properly, they can last for years and remain functional. It's up to you to choose the design right for your needs. You could go with a stone-inspired design that matches a patio or walkway. You could choose a metal-based kit to use to create a sleeker, modern fire pit. Read More
Plants That Do Well in Parking Strips
One of the biggest gardening challenges is trying to garden in a parking strip. That?s why these potential gardening plots are sometimes called ?hell strips? because of the difficulties of choosing plants that will survive in the challenging conditions that parking strips present. Read More
Garden Craft Project: Make a Faux Stone Trough from a Styrofoam Cooler
Ah, the never-ending quest for cheap yet interesting planting containers or garden accents. I kept eyeballing several styrofoam coolers which once came with gift shipments of food. There had to be some crafty way to turn those thick, shallow boxes into attractive, unique garden accents. Here's my project: a faux stone trough made from a styrofoam cooler, a few simple materials, and just a little effort and time. Read More
Mexican Petunia: A Welcome New Perennial for the East Coast, Well Known Thug Elsewhere
It's getting pretty hard for me to make my plant swap buddies say "Wow," but I did it last fall. The Ruellia in my sunny flowerbed blew their socks off. They'd never seen Mexican petunia in any local garden center. I got lucky, and caught the first wave of this perennial to hit our shores. With the plant now re-emerging in my garden, it's time to post my Ruellia user review. While I'm still happy with this plant, your mileage may vary... (cue the impending-doom music) Read More
Delightful, Spring Blooming, Fragrant Mockorange (Philadelphus)
"DURING recent years, there have crept into the trade a bewildering number of Philadelphus species and varieties." So wrote Donald Wyman, in 1936. in the an Arnold Arboretum (Harvard University) newsletter. He goes on to state that the 1931 "Plant Buyer's Index " lists 68 different mock-oranges. From your grandmother's garden to the new nursery down the street: what's tried and true, and what's new, in the delightful mockorange. Read More
Chillin with the Coles (Broccoli)
Your kids will love homegrown broccoli! It is a cool season vegetable that prefers sunny locations and fertile, well-drained soil. Incorporate plenty of organic matter into the area before planting. Read More
How To Lay Out A Vegetable Garden
There is very little more rewarding than laying out and planting your own vegetable garden. With some time and thought you can have row on row of wonderful and rewarding plants for your consumption and pleasure! Read More
Cheating the Weatherman: Extending your season with Mini-greenhouses and Cold Frames
If you enjoy starting your own seeds, you probably like to start them early to have more growing time. In warmer zones, it is quite easy to start seeds in mini-greenhouses and cold frames that can heat up nicely during the day. However, nights can still be a bit chilly ? however, it is pretty simple to keep your seedlings snug overnight. Read More
Explaining Vegetable Families: Cucumbers, Squash, Pumpkins and Melons are "Cucurbits"
Dozens of kinds of vegetables grow in home gardens. But nearly all of those crops have their "roots" in just a few plant families. The cucurbit family includes all of the squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, and melons in your garden. Understand the special needs and attributes of Cucurbitaceae when planning and tending your garden. Read More
Battling the Infamous Imported Fire Ant
It's a question that unsuspecting visitors to the Southern U.S. will invariably ask: what are those weird mounds of dirt everywhere? Those, my friend, are fire ant hillsso watch where you step. Read More
Lucky Bean Plant: A New Curiosity is Really a Flowering Tropical Tree
It had to be fake. A plastic giant bean, split as if germinated, with a green stem stuck between the halves. It couldn't be real. Read More
Classic Beauty Of Miniature Roses Then and Now
Miniature roses are naturally dwarf roses that grow 18 to 24 inches in height and micro-miniatures range from 8 to 18 inches in height. Miniature roses will jazz up any garden space and enhance any garden design. Not much is known on the horticulture history of miniature roses, a true mystery. Read More
What You Can Learn from the "Irish Potato Famine"
My husband quotes his Irish mother as saying "there are two kinds of people: those who are Irish, and those who wish they were." Ireland, a country of illuminated manuscripts, Latin and Greek scholars, Celts, kings, amazing natural beauty and remarkable literature, was all but toppled by the lowly potato in the 19th century. Read More
Explaining Vegetable Families: Tomatoes, Eggplants, Potatoes and Peppers Are All Nightshades
Potatoes and peppers would seem to be strange bedfellows in the vegetable garden. Surprise! They're actually kissing cousins. Along with tomatoes and eggplants, they are the vegetable representatives of the family Solanaceae, the nightshades. Understand the special needs and attributes of the nightshade family when planning and tending your garden. Read More
