Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day! April 2009
Carol, over at May Dreams Gardens, started the Garden Bloggers Bloom Day. I am now looking forward to this as one of my favorite days of the month! It is kind of like a virtual garden tour. You can go around to all of the garden blogs and see what is blooming in your friends’ gardens all over the world! Another good thing about bloom day: It is always the 15th of the …
We Answer Your Gardening Questions!
This morning I was watching the Today Show, and a very prissy guest host was talking with P.Allen Smith about gardening, and they were planting lettuce and potatoes and stuff. He got dirt ( excuse me, soil) all over her arm and she freaked out. It was hilarious.
What was NOT hilarious, though, was watching them indiscriminately eating violas straight out of the cell packs. Yes, …
Strange St. Patrick’s Day Tradition
So, this will make my fourth blog post in as many days. However, I feel inspired to share with you a particularly strange family tradition for St. Patrick’s day. This is a short one, but a good one.
Every year, the night before St. Patrick’s Day, my Mom would take us to the grocery to select ghastly dyed green carnations to give to our teachers the next …
Gardener’s Bloom Day: March 15
There is a Meme (a blogging theme) for Gardener’s Bloom Day. It is always the 15th of the month. I am not sure who started it or why. (UPDATE: MAY DREAMS GARDENS STARTED THIS, OR AT LEAST ORGANIZES IT. VISIT HERE) However, I always enjoy seeing everyone else’s blooms. I am never organized enough to write a bloom day post of my own. There’s a lot in bloom in my garden right now, …
Have a Green Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s Day (almost) everyone! Need a gift? Ditch the pesticide/chemically drenched conventionally grown cut flowers and go green! This morning, I learned that my husband is planning for us to celebrate this event. So, basically, I find myself in the position that most men find themselve in on or near Valentine’s Day. I HAVE NO PLANS! I have no gift. I have no idea. I …
Seeds: Starting the Butterfly Garden, NOW!
You might think I am crazy for telling you that now is the time to start thinking about seeds for your organic garden. There is still snow on the ground for most everyone reading this blog. It is not too early to think about seeds for the butterfly garden. Chris and I have an exciting butterfly project in the works, and we are excited to roll …
Garden Tour: Marie Selby Botanical Gardens
Whenever I travel, I always enjoy visiting Public Gardens. I used to manage public gardens, so I got lots of great ideas for the garden where I worked at the time. Now, I just enjoy the superb horticulture, and the opportunity to get lots of pictures to share with people. I interned at the Marie Selby Botanical Garden in the spring of 2000, and I had not been back since. I was thrilled …
Bye Bye Botrytis
Last week, in preparation for what appears to be a long, warm, winter, I planted four flats of pansies, two flats of snapdragons and some camellias. Now, I have to see if botrytis strikes. I certainly hope it doesn’t, as I prefer to not spray my plants with anything, if possible, even organic fungicides. However, if it does strike, I suppose I will treat it. After …
Orchids for Beginners
The last post was all about interesting attributes and intriguing stories about orchids. Now that your appetite is expanding for orchids, we’ll teach you how to grow them! There are lots of interesting species orchids, but the easiest to grow are some of the new hybrids. Once you get your feet wet with the orchids described below, you can branch out into more intersting varieties. You will have the confidence and the green thumb …
Winter Houseplants: Orchids Part I
The merest mention of the word “Orchid” is enough to send some people running for the exit at the garden center. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way! Tissue culture techniques and hybridizing have made lots of easy-care varieties available. But first, a little bit of the mystery and magic behind orchid fever. . .
The Orchid Thief
Susan Orlean, a writer for the New Yorker, wrote …
