Soaking garlic cloves before you plant them is a practice that many gardeners swear by, including organic garlic producers. These same gardeners swear that it improves growth, creates robust roots, …
I love a messy garden! And not just as a self-confessed prune-crastinator. To me, a messy garden is a living garden. A diverse garden. And a welcoming garden. So that’s …
Have you heard the term “underpruner” before? I honestly hope you haven’t, because if you have, that would mean I haven’t just made that up. Which I totally did. To …
Even when I’m buying mums, I can already picture their skeletal remains, tipped out of their pots and into the compost bin a couple of months from now. Chrysanthemums are …
Most of us are still plucking sun-warmed tomatoes off the vine in September, but by now the plants themselves are starting to look a little rough. (Okay, a lot rough.) …
Fall is here! What? You didn’t notice that everyone is suddenly selling pumpkins and chrysanthemums? This time of year, mums make their way into our grocery carts and grace our …
As a recovering pessimist, I have become quite adept at not making a big deal out of gardening mistakes. Sometimes, my plan(t)s don’t work out because the elements conspire against …
Fall is here, and you know what that means – it’s pumpkin spice chrysanthemum season! Everywhere you look, there are potted mums for sale. If you plan on grabbing a …
If you’ve ever stared at one of your houseplants, silently wishing it would just get on with it already, and grow large and bushy, you’re not alone. You’re also in …
Back in August, we published an article in which I was advising our readers on what plants we can take cuttings from. Next to dividing plants (which I also talked …
Saving seeds from year to year is one of the simplest ways gardeners can save money. As most of us can attest, buying seeds each spring can really add up. …
Spring and summer flowers offer a profusion of color that captivates from May through August. But what about fall? Not to be outdone, autumn offers a palette of sultry purples, …
Both the garden and I get a second wind in September. After the mellowness of summer months, and leisurely August pastimes, my mind craves a refocus and regroup. It’s not …
It’s fall, and that means it’s time to plant asparagus! I know, traditionally, asparagus is planted in the spring. But there are some solid reasons to start your asparagus on …
By the time September rolls around, there are two types of vegetable gardeners. There are the ones that say, “Garden? What garden? That was summer. This is fall. I’m going …
I got the idea for this article just as I get most of my inspiration: working in the garden, noticing something, and thinking to myself, “I wonder if anyone else …
Oh, September, that month when the light drips with gold, the summer heat finally begins to ease up, and mornings come capped in fog and crisp air. We look forward …
Fall is synonymous with chrysanthemums. Those vibrant, bushy potted mums lining garden centers and grocery stores alike practically shout, “Fall is finally here!” With their deep burgundies, rusty oranges, golden …
There’s a subtle shift in the air when September rolls around. I can sense it, without even the slightest glance at a calendar. The light changes. The breeze changes. And …
Fall is a time for cozy sweaters, pumpkin spice beer (I’ll leave the lattes to others) and chilly nights around the fire pit. It’s the time when we finish preserving …
At the beginning of the season, we’re all guilty of sweating our tomatoes. We continually peek at them, waiting for that first tomato to ripen to perfection. And when we …
Back in the late 90s there was a diaper commercial that said, “Live and learn, and get new Brand of Diapers.” This is how it is with watering raised beds. …
When it comes to tomatoes and pepper plants, I’m always feeding an army, even though there isn’t an army in sight. I assume the worst and end up planting way …
As a gardener and a garden writer, I enjoy taking photos of plants, in all their stages of growth (and sometimes demise). Most photos I take for my own record-keeping, …