It is time to say good-bye to the wonderful and versatile Jelitto Perennial Seeds—at least in one sense. I’ll be clocking out, for the last time, at the end of the year. I am grateful to my friend Klaus Jelitto for giving me a job 22 years ago. There has never been a dull day. … Read more
No holiday post from me – but I bet you’ve seen plenty lately and anyway, this post has been sitting in draft for ages. From video by Land Designs in Connecticut Because I watch so many gardening videos, I’ve naturally come across a few about landscape fabric, also called weed cloth. Though we associate its … Read more
Guest post by Constance Casey Onward and Upward in the Garden by Katherine S. White is often recommended as the prima book about gardening. Readers seeking to grow the perfect zinnia or tomato might be disappointed; there’s not a lot of information about how to grow things successfully, or what it feels like to be in … Read more
Arborist wood chips, from One Yard Revolution video Arborist wood chips are in the gardening ether these days, with Dr. Linda Chalker-Scott herself (of Garden Professor and myth-busting fame) leading the charge to promote them above all over types of mulch. (Details in this brochure.) Just recently she’s debunked myths about them on a Joe Gardener podcast. … Read more
I grew up near Richmond, VA, about an hour from Brent and Becky’s, the beloved flower bulb company in Tidewater, VA. I’ve even known Brent since I was a preteen and our families rented nearby beach cottages in Nags Head, NC. But it took a regional event of the Garden Writers Association for me to … Read more
As it turns out butterflies are not free. They can cost anywhere from $3 to $6 each. They will arrive at your doorstep in small white insulated boxes carried by FedEx trucks with purple and orange logos. They will come tightly sealed in skinny envelopes with necessary ice packs included. Then you can then pop … Read more
My connection to Wollam Gardens, the cut-flower farm in the Virginia exurbs of D.C., starts with this ridiculously cute couple – Hillary Gottemoeller and Joe Harris. I got to know them at my local cafe/music venue, where they perform their own songs and where Joe organizes events showcasing talented musicians from the region. (Here’s my … Read more
It’s that time of year again. Our local botanical gardens has joined the ranks of other such sites across the US to introduce a titan arum (“corpse flower”) event, based on the bloom cycle of the plant. I have never seen one of these in bloom and am not sure I’ll get there in time … Read more
As anyone who has ever opened a small, home-grown retail nursery can tell you, the economic reality for such is straight out of the veteran horse gambler’s prayer: Lord, I hope I break even, I need the money. So it went as we opened our Hidden Hill Nursery & Sculpture Garden 19 years ago on … Read more
The next issue of the magazine I edit features heritage businesses in Western New York—the ones that have lasted more than 100 years. Amazingly, two we’re covering are garden centers (and there are more gardening-related companies we couldn’t fit in). I say amazingly because there are built-in problems with maintaining independent gardening businesses in cold … Read more