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At this time of year a little gardening therapy can go a long way. There isn’t much that can be done outdoors where I live in Zone 6 until the ground thaws and dries out a little. But there’s plenty you can be doing indoors, and for me the fun begins with grow lights. Many houseplants need 12-16 hours of light a day to thrive, and seedlings like 16-18 hours a day.  That doesn’t mean that they will die with less light, but this is the optimum.  You’ve probably heard of a condition called SAD (se...

If you have an orchid and its flowers have fallen off and you don’t know what to do, read on. Chances are your orchid is a Phalaenopsis, or phals for short in orchid circles, since it is the most common available commercially. You have two choices: throw the plant out or follow the instructions below for encouraging it to rebloom! I confess I have thrown my share of orchids on the compost heap because they sat there flowerless for months and didn’t seem to be doing anything! After consulting with ...

It's time to wake up your houseplants!  As the days grow longer and the sun gets stronger, now is the time to wake up two of my favorite flowering houseplants, clivia miniata and agapanthus.  Because it takes so much energy to produce a flower, they have been resting over the winter between bloom times. Here are some techniques gardeners use to get them ready for spring. Clivia miniata [caption id="attachment_3572" align="alignright" width="229"] My clivia miniata blooming.[/caption] Clivias a...

[caption id="attachment_246" align="alignleft" width="150"] Ruth's Greenhouse[/caption] Welcome to my 10' x 9' greenhouse.  It faces south with a sliding door from the living room. When spring comes I can walk through it onto the deck where I pot up lots of fun combinations in planters. Many of the plants I use have been overwintered and propagated in my greenhouse.  My nitrile garden gloves live there too where they are close to hand. At the moment several varieties of velvety-leaved aromatic Cu...

Last year I confided in my readers that several of my Amaryllis bulbs from the previous year did not rebloom as I had expected. So I followed Ruth Clausen's advice more closely and am giving it another try this year. Here are Ruth's instructions, and what I did wrong (at the end): After the blooms finish, cut off the dead flowers to stop the plants from using energy to produce seed. Cut the stalk as well. Leave the leaves intact and keep the plant under the same growing conditions as before until it w...

  Children and gardening go together naturally, but too few kids experience the fun of getting down into the dirt.  Try these projects to get them interested and don't forget kids garden gloves to protect their hands.   What sounds like more fun to a child than growing garbage on a windowsill?  For a "Garbage Garden" start with carrots and pineapples, potatoes, and other vegetable waste bound for the garbage pail. It's educational and inexpensive too. There's no need for pots either....

By August, does it feel like the best is over in your garden? Spring and summer bloom is usually abundant, but by late summer the garden may look tired. With just a little extra care you can make your display last until early Fall by growing perennials that keep blooming throughout the season, or produce a second flush later in the season. [caption id="attachment_337" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Salvia 'May Night'"][/caption] "Off with their heads" should be your mantra. The act of ...

  We asked Wendy Kiang-Spray, accomplished gardener and cook, to share with our readers some of her wisdom about growing and cooking Asian vegetables.  We are giving away a copy of her book, "The Chinese Kitchen Garden," in which she introduces growing techniques and family recipes inspired by her parents and grandparents. Wendy is a first-generation Chinese American who grew up watching her parents grow and prepare vegetables in the ways of their homeland. She dedicates her book to them and makes ...

  We spoke with Lisa Ringer of Two Pony Gardens in Long Lake, MN about how she prepares for the dahlia season. Many parts of the country are experiencing a late spring, so her advice on how to lengthen the growing season is particularly relevant this year, even to non-Minnesotans. Here's what she told us, commenting that she has two feet of snow on the ground and it's the middle of April (!)  This is not typical, even for Minnesota. Since Lisa's growing season can be cut short by a mid-Septem...

If you received a free package of three Hyacinth bulbs, they are ready to be potted up indoors as soon as you get them. This is because they have spent the winter in a cool warehouse in Pennsylvania. (For other Spring blooming bulbs, you need to put them in a cool, refrigerated location for 6-8 weeks before potting them up indoors.) Follow these instructions for forcing your bulbs to bloom this Spring indoors: Fill a pot (6" diameter or more) with potting soil or a soilless mix purchased at a gard...