By Claire Jones
Why wait until May to plant your containers? I keep mine going all year long. By early to mid-March, I’m already pulling out winter greens and tucking in cool-season flowers that don’t just tolerate the cold—they thrive in it (see my favorites below with frost tolerance). When summer containers start to look tired in early …
Continue reading "The Secret to Continous Color in Spring Containers"
Breakfast daily, 3 lunches, 4 dinners, 1 Afternoon Tea 4- Star Hotel Accommodations for 12 nights, including London, Wales, and Windsor Full day immersion at the Iconic Chelsea Flower Show (RHS Member’s Day) Explore the idyllic Cotswolds village, Ilmington, visiting private cottage gardens Private winery tour and tasting at White Castle Vineyard in Wales, plus …
Continue reading "From Chelsea to the Welsh Hills: Garden Connoisseur’s Tour"
Every spring, I watch the same ritual unfold. Gardeners head to the nursery full of optimism. They load their carts with compost, fertilizer, lime, “plant food,” maybe a bright new bag promising bigger blooms or deeper green lawns. They come home and begin spreading amendments generously, convinced they are giving their plants exactly what they …
Continue reading "From the Ground Up – The Importance of Soil Testing"
Early spring bird feeding changes almost overnight. All winter the feeders were busy — chickadees arguing, sparrows squabbling, woodpeckers tapping on frozen mornings — and then one day in March, silence. Nothing has gone wrong. Your garden has simply shifted from cafeteria to nursery. Early Spring Bird Feeding: The Winter Transition During winter, birds survive …
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What to look for in the garden after winter: check plants, soil, wildlife, winter damage, and the first spring tasks after snow melts. Weeks of extreme cold, ice, and snow, when I see the first bare ground it feels like a turning point. Most gardeners walk outside and immediately feel the urge to clean up. …
Continue reading "When the Snow Finally Melts: What to Look for First in Your Garden"
Will weeks of sub-zero cold damage hydrangeas, berries, and other garden plants? Understanding winter survival in garden plants is more complicated than temperature alone. How Winter Survival Works in Garden Plants After a stretch of extreme winter weather — nights dropping below 0°F and days stuck in the teens and twenties for weeks, combined with …
Continue reading "Snow Is Protection: Understanding Winter Survival in the Garden"
Neonicotinoids—commonly called neonics—are the most widely used insecticides in the United States. Introduced in 1994, these systemic pesticides are now found in hundreds of products, including sprays, seed treatments, soil drenches, tree injections, and even veterinary products. Over the past three decades, scientific evidence linking neonic exposure to environmental harm—and potential human health risks—has continued …
Continue reading "Updated: Pesticide Free Nurseries and Seed Suppliers"
Cultivated Italy: Gardens, History & Vineyards is a curated 14-day journey from Rome to Venice designed for travelers who want to experience Italy deeply through its gardens, villas, art, and landscapes. The tour includes expert guides, private coach transportation, admissions to more than twenty extraordinary sites, and special experiences such as truffle hunting in …
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Birds have many strategies to survive without our help, but as a concerned birder, I like to think that offering nutritious food tips the balance in their favor during extreme weather. Mortality during prolonged cold snaps is significantly higher for birds, and studies have shown that survival improves when birds have reliable access to backyard …
Continue reading "Extreme Weather Strategies for Birds"
As I write this, a major winter storm is on its way, bringing the familiar mix of snow, ice, and biting cold. For gardeners, these moments always spark the same question: Should I be doing something? The answer is: sometimes yes, often no — and occasionally, absolutely not. A winter garden is not dormant in …
Amaryllis bulbs are a popular Christmas gift and with the proper care, you can have a beautiful winter/early spring blooming bulb for many years.
After months of seed trays under lights, misting, thinning, hardening off, and finally planting out, there comes the best part of all — cutting armfuls of flowers and bringing them inside. This is where seed starting turns into something tangible, generous, and joyful: the cutting garden. The phrase cutting garden can sound a bit elitist. …
Continue reading "The Cutting Garden: From Seed Trays to Mason Jars"
