Search results for: 'p l and y'

One of the most satisfying parts of gardening for me is to take part in the miracle of plant propagation. It can be as simple as pinching off a stem and dropping it in a glass of water or as complicated as grafting a branch from one plant onto the root stock of another. Boom!  A plant is born. There are two primary ways plants procreate: sexually and asexually. Sexual propagation is through seeds, and it is the primary way plants multiply in nature.  Asexual propagation methods are manmade. Think of th...

Cinderellas, snowballs, goblins and knuckleheads. Knuckleheads? You know them by their all-encompassing name: pumpkins. With fall arriving just last week, farm fields and farm market tables are groaning with pumpkins, those multi-colored signs of the season from the Cucurbita genus (the Latin word for 'gourd').  While orange sugar pumpkins and big jack-o’-lantern pumpkins are commonly seen in fall displays, there are many more varieties available for eating and decorating. Perhaps one of their most ap...

I love making paper ornaments for decorating gifts or hanging on the tree, so I often check Pinterest for new ideas. I saw an idea recently that I liked. Click here to see the video. On the 3rd try I was happy with the results. It's not difficult but you just need to know a few things to avoid the mistakes I made the 1st and 2nd time I tried it. The craft of making paper ornaments is becoming more popular, and the 'handmade paper decorations market' is large and growing.  Origami, developed in Japan, is...

It’s time to publish Ruth Clausen's list of heat and drought tolerant perennials. The heat came early this year and it is taking its toll on some plants.  Over the years I have been planting many of the perennials on her list, with the goal of creating a water-wise garden! By drought tolerant we mean they can withstand dry conditions for a few days and will recover from drooping during the day.  It doesn’t mean they should stay dry for several days. Drought resistant plants, by contrast, can stay...

The vegetable garden at Bunny Williams’ property in Falls Village, Connecticut, where professional gardener Tricia van Oers is employed, is all about relationships. Bunny calls Tricia 'the soul of the garden' and says she has never eaten so well. Tricia is equally complimentary of her employer. “Bunny lets me feel a sense of ownership of the garden. She allows for playfulness and freedom within the established design of the garden,” says Tricia. Their paths first crossed in the summer of 2018 wh...

I have three favorite bulbs that I like to grow in the summer. In my Zone 6 garden they have to be planted in the spring after the last frost. That's what I'm doing now. There are many other summer blooming bulbs as well, but these are my personal favorites, currently. The term 'bulb' applies to a large class of flowering and ornamental bulbouslike plants in their dormant condition, including corms, tubers, rhizomes and pips. [caption id="attachment_4304" align="alignright" width="190"] White acidanth...

For some perennials, it is especially difficult to move or divide them. You plant them, they thrive, then you decide to uproot them and they just don’t want to go there. Perennials that would just as soon be left alone include Baptisia, lupine, Oriental poppy, milkweed, Russian sage, goatsbeard, red hot poker, and peony. To learn ways to increase your success, our go-to horticulturist Ruth Clausen provides tips. When you move them and how you do it is critical. Learn when the optimal time to mo...

Traditionally it was considered good form to tidy up the garden before winter by cutting back just about everything to a few inches of the ground. Many horticulturists and naturalists now recommend that you leave some plants for winter interest and wildlife sustainability. But which ones? Here are Ruth Clausen’s tips for putting your garden to bed this fall. Be choosy about what needs to go. Observe which plants are diseased or pest-ridden and get rid of those. Put diseased plant material in a tra...

I bought a potted Easter Lily for the small family gathering we had this year, and we received some potted daffodils from my brother and sister-in-law as a gift. Most often these bulbs are thrown on the compost heap or trash bin as soon as they've finished blooming, but I decided I wanted to keep mine. I asked horticulturist Ruth Clausen for her suggestions about saving these bulbs for future years. I was hoping she would tell me I can store my bulbs and force them to bloom indoors next Easter.  Here's ...

[caption id="attachment_468" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Forsythia has a graceful habit which should be respected"][/caption] No other shrub personifies the brash exuberance of spring like forsythia. At this time of year it is blooming in almost every garden as hedges, clipped and unclipped, along roadways, and even on the edge of woods. Sometimes it looks wonderful, but at other times it is obviously a case of wrong plant, wrong place. Forsythia shrubs have a beautiful, naturally elegant hab...