I love my new monstera but not enough to take a selfie with it. The question was staring at me from my Facebook feed, in the form of a hunky guy sitting with a medium-sized parlor palm (I think) between his naked legs. For the past two years or so, the House Plant Hobbyist Facebook … Read more
The office is lightly scented with pencil shavings and old coffee mugs this morning. Not an unpleasant smell, but an unfamiliar one. I have ignored this room for two weeks over the Christmas holiday, and come back to it apologetically now – watering the parched papyrus tub and mindlessly straightening piles of to-do on three … Read more
Hope I’ll soon be able to make a haul like this again, but safely. That was the question yesterday, as local green industry owners and employees were discussing whether or not garden centers were one of the (many) essential businesses allowed to operate while New York State is “on pause.” The long list includes things … Read more
Curb-side pick-up. Oh, the ethical turmoil I’ve been in! Should I stay home and shop for food only, or support other local businesses, too? Plus, it’s spring and we gardeners need to buy plants and supplies. I’ll confess that my greatest personal fear (after dying, of course) was that the garden centers would be closed … Read more
In the beginning there were blessed, soaking rains. Then came the curse of the tangled hose. The Romans built aqueducts to move water around. I, on the other hand, drag two or three sections of “virtually kink proof” 50’ hoses in the summer heat, chanting the March of the Winkies O-Ee-yah! Eoh-ah from the “Wizard … Read more
Johanna Dominguez behind the counter at Put a Plant On it (summer photo) While it’s widely acknowledged that gardening exploded during 2020—as much a result of the safety and satisfaction of being outdoors creating beauty (or trying to) as any stay-at-home order—another plant-related trend also burgeoned during the pandemic. People found that bringing plants inside … Read more
It’s the holiday season and our feeds are currently stuffed with gorgeous filtered photos and fifteen second videos warmed with soft music – all with one clear and focused goal: to make us buy and follow, follow and buy. Keep your wits about you. It’s a tricky season in the best of years, but at … Read more
Bob Hill is back and overcome by impulse. Problem No. 1 was I left my reading glasses in the car. Problem No. 2 was I was out foraging box-store garden centers in frosty December for whatever was left. Problem No.3 was that in having approached eight full decades of life I have taken a solemn … Read more
Johanna Dominguez of Put a Plant on It, planted this terrarium for me, my second. Happy new year! I’m celebrating by embracing a new terrarium. I’m somewhat confident because I have one already that I’ve kept going for more than a dozen years. I say somewhat because I personally did not plant either of the … Read more
Tony Avent’s beloved garden and his Plant Delights Nursery in North Carolina have many mentions here on GardenRant, all favorable. We’ve reported on visits in person, and we were thrilled to be included in the cover of the 2013 catalog (the four original Ranters are in the upper left). So no one here takes pleasure … Read more