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  I have heard many a seasoned plant person say that if they had to choose only one plant to grow in their garden it would be Allium. Why do gardeners love this genus of plants? Because Allium has hundreds of species ranging in shape and size, blooming from early spring to late fall, and deer don’t like any of them! In addition, while they are hardy with strong stems they are well mannered and don’t try to push out other plants in the garden. When I visited Martha Stewart’s home in Katonah,...

In this issue-- Mulch Your Garden Beds After the Ground Freezes What to Know About Houseplants and Your Cat Gardeners Make Their New Year's Resolutions Mulch Your Garden Beds After the Ground Freezes Where I live in the northeast the ground is just about frozen. This is my cue to protect the plants in my garden that have shallow roots.  This includes any new plants that have not had a full season to get established. Why now? The purpose of winter mulching is to keep the ground around these pla...

A Tuna Can Becomes A Tray Decoration If you know someone who is homebound over the holidays, this is an idea that will bring a smile to their face. I belong to a garden club and each year at our December meeting we put together little tray ornaments and deliver them to groups such as Meals on Wheels and local hospitals. We make over 300 of these tray ornaments. Here are the supplies you will need: -1 block of Oasis® floral foam (can be purchased at a florist or garden center) -1 empty tuna or ...

In this issue: Host A Farm-To-Table Thanksgiving Discover the Legacy of the first World Trade Center Host A Farm-To-Table Thanksgiving-- We’ve all witnessed the growth in farmers markets, but the latest trend is indoor, year round farmers markets. When I heard this I decided to host my first farm-to-table Thanksgiving.  I located a website that tells me where the closest market is to me at this time of year.  Our Pawling Farmers Market is a summer-only open air market , but there is one two t...

The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love By Kristin Kimball-- I was charmed by this book, the story of a pair of first generation farmers building a working farm in upstate New York, powered by draft horses. There’s enough practical information in the book to be instructive to other young farmers inspired to follow in this couple’s footsteps, but for me the book’s charm lies with the story telling talent of the author Kristin Kimball (shown below). At the beginning of the book Kristin is si...

In This Issue: My Mother's Garden A Brilliant Orchid Show in NY Grow Stockier, Bushier Tomato Plants This Year My Mother's Garden -- Recently I spent an afternoon gardening with my mother in northwestern Connecticut, just about 30 miles north of where I live, so that I could observe first hand what her secret to a beautiful garden is. When I got there she had her shovel deep in her compost bin.  Then she dropped the compost on a screen positioned over her wheelbarrow and began rubbing it throu...

In This Issue: The Hunger Moon and Other Moons New Study Pinpoints Lyme Disease Risk Areas The Hunger Moon and Other Moons-- In The Old Farmers Almanac there is a name given to each full moon of the year. These are mostly adapted from early Native Americans who kept track of the passing seasons and tied their calendar to the full moons.   I was reminded of this last week by a friend who told me we were in “The Hunger Moon”.  He was helping me understand why one of our hens had been taken earli...

In this issue Learning Seed Propagation at NY Botanical Garden Make Your own Maple Syrup Welcome Spring with a Farm-To-Table Brunch Learning Seed Propagating at NY Botanical Garden-- I am taking a plant propagating class at The New York Botanical Garden with one of their best instructors and a lifelong plantsman, Michael Ruggiero.  It’s a treat to learn from him. Last month in “The Curious Gardener” I talked about selecting seeds from mail order seed catalogs. In this article I will take ...

When my husband Tom asked me why I wanted a greenhouse I said that I wanted to be able to can and pickle and preserve vegetables and fruits. He replied that those are not exactly things you do in a greenhouse. He has a point. I realized at that moment that I had constructed in my mind an elaborate fantasy that involved growing things from seed to transplant to harvest to preserving.  I pictured a factory production line in my kitchen, with canning jars being boiled and cute little labels being printed o...

In this issue: Tips on Navigating Mail Order Seed Catalogs Feeding the Hungry: Just Do It! Gardeners Make Their Resolutions for 2011: The Winners Are… Navigating Mail Order Seed Catalogs-- A seasoned mail order gardener will tell you that the gardening year begins in the dead of winter when seed catalogs start arriving, long before local garden centers open their doors for spring.  I have finally joined the ranks of those who will be growing from seed this year – in the new greenhouse ...