A trip to the herb border in mid-summer is pure aromatherapy: the lemon verbena in the picture, for instance, smells so much like citrus it's used instead of lemons to flavor seafood dishes.
During a sultry summer afternoon the herb garden is a symphony of scents: the lingering persistence of ... Views: 272
Most herbaceous perennials can be propagated by division: dig up the clump, tease it apart into several sections, making sure they all get a reasonable share of the roots, and replant them.
Some root systems are really hard and gnarly, but plants are resilient; you can use a fork or a shovel ... Views: 272
If you only have one rose in your garden, it should be a Damask.
Another notable descendant of the old cabbage rose, the Damask is the complete package: exquisite fragrance, spectacular flowers, perpetual bloom, well-behaved growth habit and disease resistance.
Whenever fragrance is ... Views: 269
Legend has it that the Knights of Malta where so impressed with this plant, whose four petaled bright red flowers reminded them of their crest, that they brought it home when they returned from the crusades; it has been a cottage garden staple ever since.
The plant has many names, some of ... Views: 269
All fruits are suitable for preserves, especially if they come in vibrant colors, but some, like apples, quinces, pears, plums and grapes, are naturally high in pectin and will gel beautifully without additives.
Jellies must be firm and transparent like colored glass, in brilliant jewel ... Views: 268
Tomato plants are tough, their germination rate is spectacular and they will survive anywhere, but getting them to produce requires the right conditions and a little work.
First, they need cultivated soil, slightly acidic, that contains a fair amount of organic fertilizer and they have to be ... Views: 266
Climbers and ramblers are nature's gift to the land-locked gardener. I don't think there is anything cozier and more delightful than a little corner filled with greenery and flowers tucked away from the world, sheltered between walls covered in rose bunches or hiding behind an old arbor trailed ... Views: 265
I couldn’t imagine my garden without the toad lilies, whose blossoms are as close to approximating a tropical orchids as any cold weather plant is ever going to get.
Don’t get deceived by their fragile look, they are hardy to zones four through nine and just like their cousins, the spring ... Views: 261
When I first started growing vegetables, I worried the veggie plot would look too utilitarian, with its lined up rows and its pedestrian supports. Imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning to a tapestry of egg yolk colored trumpets, larger than my hand, which gleamed in the morning sunlight ... Views: 260
I felt kind of guilty to see that the grass had gone to seed on my lawn, but then I saw it ripen in a lot of other places and relaxed, it seems the combination of warmth and plentiful rain gave it the oomph to grow wild this year.
Because we're used to seeing it in its domesticated form - the ... Views: 256
There must be a hive somewhere in the neighborhood, because bees visit my garden very often, to gather nectar from their favorite flowers. Sedums produce an abundance of it, and their small flowers make an insect's work a little easier.
Did you know that a worker bee lives just forty days ... Views: 255
Gardening by the moon is a bit of a contentious subject among farmers and gardeners; some swear by it and find it very useful in their practice while others dismiss it as total hooey. I haven’t tried it yet, so I’m only talking about it in the abstract.
The basic tenet behind the practice is ... Views: 251
I’ve been growing vegetables in my little garden for over ten years, and one may wonder what is the benefit of waiting four whole months to get an eggplant when there is a whole stand of them at the grocery store all the time, even in the middle of winter.
What happens is that every year, ... Views: 248
No matter how passionate you are about gardening, there comes a moment when you just want to plant your flower bed and forget it, at least forget about having to tend to it constantly; rest assured there are many plants, both annual and perennials, that would take care of themselves without a ... Views: 244
Geotropism is an incredibly sophisticated method through which a plant manages to use the same process to make its stems grow up and its roots reach down.
If a plant is growing horizontally, instead of vertically, a plant hormone called auxin, which serves to inhibit cellular growth, sinks to ... Views: 244
The last week of March usually brings warm, almost summer like weather, perfect for the long-awaited spring cleaning.
It felt strange this year to find a reliable pattern in the middle of emptiness and uncertainty.
I put the favorable weather to good use and finished the garden cleaning ... Views: 227
Established gardens have a secret gardeners don't learn until they've spent many seasons watching them and caring for them: the group planting graciously indulges one or two species to rule the garden for a season, and those rights change every year, allowing all the plants the opportunity to ... Views: 212
Long before the dawn of chemistry herbs held the honor of providing people with a readily available pharmacological treasure, foraged and cataloged by natural healers.
Herbs may not be able to cure severe illness, not in their natural form, anyway, but they have the answer to the smaller things ... Views: 194
When you grow up around gardening activities you're sure to internalize a few old wives tales. Some of them are backed up by science, but most are just taken on faith and passed along from one generation to the next without any reason or explanation. Here are a few.
If you want a plant ... Views: 190