The Edible Flower Garden – Petal to Plate

Edible flowers are frequently for sale at farmer's markets but most people are hesitant to take the plunge and actually eat them. Garnishes - yes, but actually eating flowers??? For most people that is a different story. But flowers can add a lot to the flavor as well as  appeal of a dish.  Go to …

Make Your Own Hypertufa

Gardener's Dictionary Hypertufa (n.): An artificial and lightweight stone that gardeners can create from a recipe and mold into plant containers, troughs and any other shape. If you mention hypertufa to a non-gardener, you would probably get a blank look. But in the gardening world, it is very trendy and a sign of a serious …

Springtime in Giverny

Giverny, designed by artist Claude Monet, looks good in any season, but spring time visits are glorious! Bulbs, early spring flowers, blooming shrubs and trees, make it a impressionistic painting of flowers. Visually striking from the moment you step foot in the garden, most people upon entering, pause and let it all soak in before …

Scotland’s Gardens, Islands, and Castles

I am traveling to Scotland in July and am very excited about seeing parts of Scotland that I haven't seen before and visiting favorites that I want to go back and see. I will be leading a small group of intrepid travelers, some new and many repeats of my previous tours. My garden tours are …

Deer Resistant Landscaping

Deer resistance is a huge buzz world in the gardening world and for good reason. Many of us battle these animals daily and too many just throw up their hands and give up. All it takes is to educate yourself on the many possibilities that are available - both native and non-native - and throw …

Planting a Pollinator Friendly Bee Lawn

  This post has been updated to Converting a Lawn to a Flawn- Flowering Lawn.  Turf grass lawns are an American tradition. Everyone who has any kind of yard or property aspires to having a perfect green manicured carpet. But as we now know, grass can be a dead zone for native insects and birds, …

Hellebores-Deer Resistant, Low Maintenance, Shade Perennial

Gardeners and Hellebores Ok, drumroll here....I think I can say that Hellebores are my favorite perennial plant. A well-kept secret of garden enthusiasts, Hellebores should be more widely known to serious and not so serious gardeners alike; this is a plant that is worth seeking out. What other plant resists deer, neglect, likes shade-even deep shade, is …

Great Backyard Bird Count 2022

  The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) runs from Feb 18-22, 2022, which is an unique opportunity to get the family involved in this popular hobby to record bird sightings. An event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations, the GBBC is a great …

Stars of the Garden – David Austin Roses

David Austin Roses evokes trusses of fragrant  many petalled blooms hanging on an arbor in the quintessential English garden. I have seen many of these examples over the years in my travels in the UK and also the western part of the country, but in the Mid-Atlantic region, this effect is harder to get, but …

Custom Grown Annuals From Susan Iglehart

I love to spotlight local under-the-radar nurseries in central Maryland. These hard working nurseries fill a niche that larger nurseries and big box stores can't begin to fill. And one specialty greenhouse is right under my nose only a few miles away and I really just took it for granted - Susan Iglehart's Flowers or …

Secrets of Great Seed Starting for Experts and Beginners

This post has been updated to Seed Starting Made Easy. Everybody is into seed starting this spring because of renewed interest in gardening and there are tips and tricks to this great money saving hobby. New gardeners frequently think that you just throw some seeds from a seed packet into potting soil and place them …

Now is the Time to Winter Sow

After a hectic year of non-stop landscaping work, I have some time on my hands and discovered 'winter sowing'. I started doing it last winter in a small way with Bells of Ireland and was so successful, that I am winter sowing in a big way this January and February to save my precious time …