You can't beat an annual plant for its desire to please the gardener. It has one season to live and it puts all of its energy into producing flowers. If you plant a seed, either indoors or directly in the garden, some annuals will germinate and grow to maturity, producing a flower in as little as 8 weeks. Cut that flower and it takes it as a mandate to produce more flowers. Give it average soil and it’s ok…

  Clematis is a versatile vining plant that comes in many sizes and colors. Monty Don, the British gardening personality, said in an interview with The Guardian, “Everyone loves clematis. To dislike clematis as a matter of principle would take a degree of perversity of the same order as disliking grass, trees or coffee ice cream. If you have a wall or fence, a decent-sized…

  One of the most widely known willows is pussy willow.  The botanical name is Salix discolor and it’s native to North American wetlands. Its catkins are as soft as a kitten’s paws and it’s one of the first plants to signal spring is nigh. The botanical genus for willow plants is Salix and there are about 400 water loving species in the genus. Where I live in Pawling, NY we are situated in the 6,000 acre Great Swamp Watershed,…

  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…

It's been a rainier winter and spring than most here in the northeast, and many of us are having issues with drainage in places we never had them before. In some cases it might be best to wait and see if the problem persists or if the excessive rainfall is just an aberration. In my case I have an herb garden that hugs the back of our house and extends about…

  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…

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…

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…

Womanswork has gathered our favorite garden gloves, tools and other gardening essentials for a giveaway this month! The total retail value of this giveaway is $223.40. To enter write a comment below saying you would like to win our "Think Spring" prize and you will be entered to win. It's that simple! If you prefer to enter via Instagram, find us at @womansworkco, like our post and tag a friend. You will automatically be entered and so will your friends…

  When Katie Lane writes on her blog "you really can’t beat that feeling of harvesting something that you’ve raised from a tiny seed," it's easy to become a fan.  Her adventures ‘up the allotment’ on Plot 15C in Hampshire England have made her small community garden an internet star in the UK. Katie's colorful writing has given her potting shed, which sits on…