By Claire Jones
Planting Containers Early After a long cold winter, gardeners are itching to get some color outside, even as early as St Patrick's Day, here in the mid-Atlantic region. Most hardy annuals tolerate light frosts, but not freezing. April 1st marks the start of my container season, but I have to be careful what I plant. …
Continue reading "Top 10 Annuals That Can Take the Cold"
Basil, one of my top herb favorites, is getting some bad knocks lately. Normally a cinch to grow, Basil has been plagued by fatal downy mildew, which makes it unusable. The latest malady to hit ornamental and food plants is Basil Downy Mildew, which has appeared in the last couple of years and is sweeping …
Continue reading "Loving Basil"
The Himalayan Blue Poppy is a mythic flower and a much sought after garden gem by collectors. Longwood Gardens has a brief dazzling display of these blue stunners.
You know the phrase-"Your home is your castle!". For a gardener, just substitute "Your potting shed is your castle" and you understand what gardeners hold near and dear. A comfortable place that you can store your garden implements, tools, and other horticulture paraphernalia in an attractive and functional manner. A well-appointed garden shed can be …
Continue reading "The Well-Appointed Potting Shed"
Cerinthe major atropurpurea , featured at Sissinghurst Castle in England, is actually a native of the Greek Islands. This hard to find annual is definitely a much sought after easy to grow annual from seed. Not available as transplants, you can get the seed from Renee's Garden Seeds. An unusually colored flower with indigo-violet drooping …
Continue reading "Plant Lust – Cerinthe,Pride of Gibralter"
Looking like a butterfly bush on sterioids, Vitex agnus-castus, or Chaste Tree, is enjoying a comeback in gardens with some compact varieties that fit into smaller gardens. It's easy to grow in well-drained soil and drought-tolerant and disease resistant. Not the tidiest plant in the garden, the newer varieties, like 'Shoal Creek' will top off …
Continue reading "Know and Grow: Deer Resistant Vitex"
Love-in-a-Mist, aka Ragged Lady, or Persian Jewels, is a hardy annual with fine, thread like leaves and intricate 1½ in. flowers at the end of each branch. An excellent cut flower, Love-in-a-Mist, Nigella damascena, forms interesting horned seed capsules surrounded by ferny mist-like foliage and are beautiful in dried arrangements. Plants grow to 1½ ft. …
Continue reading "Plant Lust-Love in a Mist"
The grass is starting to green up and bulbs are peeking through the soil and spring is around the corner. Gardening chores come fast and furious once warm weather hits and sometimes you don’t have time to fit all the tasks in. To jump-start your gardening year, you can hit the ground running early to …
Continue reading "12 Steps for a Spring Jump-Start"
Sunny yellow blooms fringed with a green ruff green poking through snow is my first sign that spring has sprung. Eranthis hyamalis, in the buttercup family, is a spring ephemeral, which means that it is a short-lived plant above ground with a burst of blooms, then disappears, remaining under ground until next winter. Beaming …
Continue reading "Winter Aconite-The Bulb That Keeps Giving"
What planters are light weight, 100% recyclable, will not fade or crack, withstand harsh weather and UV rays, and offer a 10 year warranty? Drum roll please......... Crescent Garden Planters. Oh, did I mention they are self watering? Containing a very large reservoir, I never had to water my Crescent Planter last summer, not once! …
Continue reading "Crescent Garden Planters-Best Self Watering Containers on the Market"
