Articles by Katie Elzer-Peters
Katie Elzer-Peters is a professional horticulturalist and member of the Garden Writers Association of America. She has extensive experience operating public gardens, including serving as Curator of Landscape with the King’s Garden at Fort Ticonderoga and Assistant Director of Airlie Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina. She has a bachelor's degree from Purdue and a Master's from the University of Delaware Longwood Graduate Program, both in Public Horticulture.
It is getting to the point where, if you don't have a gift for your special someone, it is almost too late. However, you can still get some good deals out there, and, with express shipping, you can still make it happen: that MasterCard commercial with the trampoline, Kleenex and paper bag, oh and the door opening to show two brand new cars. If you can't get two brand new ...
Posted in Garden Design | No Comments »
According to a recent talk I attended, there have been 7 million new gardeners entering our ranks this year. In a few years, Generation Y (people born between 1977 and 2000) will comprise 47% of the work force. (We are somewhere much lower than that now. I can't find my notes.) If you listen to the mainstream media, we are portrayed as entitled, philanthropic, in want of instant gratification, constantly asking "Why?" skeptical of authority, ...
Posted in Savory and Sage Tidbits | 5 Comments »
I am back from the compost hiatus. Last Sunday, we (and when I say "we," I mean "my husband") cleaned out the
gutters. There was some serious composting already happening in there. My fellow garden tweeters let me know that gutter compost is good stuff. It sure looked it! We made a pile of it in the backyard so that ...
Posted in Compost | 11 Comments »
If you regularly read this blog, you know I'm a bookworm. So, in honor of upcoming Earth Day, and (GASP!) my Birthday, I'm reviewing the great new book by Mark Bittman Food Matters. I heard Mark interviewed on NPR right ...
Posted in Organic Book Reviews | 2 Comments »
What are native plants? Why is everybody so hung up on planting them in their gardens? Are native plants necessary inclusions in an organic garden? Are the words "organic" and "native" interchangeable?
What are "Native Plants?"
The definition of "native plant" is different for every gardener. The definition can be as broad as "a plant that grows on the same continent" of the ...
Posted in Garden Design | 2 Comments »
On twitter this morning, one of the people I "follow" said something intriguing about the push for a Victory Garden on the White House lawn. He said that he was worried that the current initiative for Victory Gardens 2.0 will end up causing lots of problems with herbicide/pesticide and fertilizer overuse because people don't undertsand organic gardening, or even, well, gardening! I hadn't really thought about ...
Posted in Garden Maintenance | 8 Comments »
As a horticulturist that spent years in school and countless (boring but useful) hours in pesticide training, I am always wary of people that give all organics a blanket approval. To be a true organic gardener, there are some things you need to know about organic gardening. One of the ...
Posted in Fruits, Veggies and Herbs | No Comments »
Making your own compost is the best way to add organic matter and natural fertilizer to your garden. Organic matter helps water move through the soil—water stays in the soil so that plants can take it up, but organic matter also helps soil drain properly. Organic matter improves soil structure, helping roots penetrate deeply. Organic matter helps keep the pH of the ...
Posted in Compost | 3 Comments »
Tea, the second most popular beverage, after water, has a horticultural connection. In fact, if you want, you can grow a tea plant on your patio. Black, green, white and oolong tea comes from the plant Camellia sinensis. Tea leaves are just that: the young leaves from the tips of the branches of this plant. Each type of tea mentioned above is dried and prepared differently, resulting in a different nutrient ...
Posted in Fruits, Veggies and Herbs | No Comments »
This winter, try indoor worm composting to digest your kitchen scraps and create some nutrient-dense soil for your garden. You can generally feed one pound of worms one pound of garbage and they’ll produce one pound of compost a day. (By garbage, we mean “things we don’t need, but that worms will eat.) You can purchase an indoor worm bin, or ...
Posted in Compost | 1 Comment »
