Tag: Womanswork

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 Clivias are native to…

Kate Blairstone is no shrinking violet. As an illustrator she approaches her subjects with the exuberance of a person who is curious about everything. Before she draws a plant or an animal, she wants to know more about the community they are a part of and the relationships that inform their world. As a gardener she has a floriferous sense, so everything is densely packed in her Portland, OR garden. She buys plants small but they grow up fast in…

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…

  When Sarah Green and her husband Richard moved into their home 20 years ago, she brought roses from her previous garden 10 minutes away.  Roses are notoriously uncomfortable with being transplanted, but the ‘Queen of Denmark’ and other old fashioned varieties Sarah had received as a wedding gift from her uncle held sentimental value. “I rushed them over,” she recalls, “and planted them in the new garden where they are still going strong.” An enthusiastic gardener and plant person,…

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…

August can be a misunderstood month. As gardeners we put our energy into fighting back weeds and thinking about next year’s garden, and often miss the rich variety of flowering plants that the late season has to offer. Garden centers will tell you that most people shop for plants in the spring, and they reach for the plants that are blooming, passing over late season bloomers. That may help explain…

  In the process of creating a successful public private partnership between a garden club and a state park in NY, a historic section of the Hudson Valley Highlands was reinvigorated with native plants, and a pollinator community of bees and birds was established. In addition, the contribution of Jane Colden, America’s first female botanist, was given a voice. Colden, who left behind a voluminous manuscript of her botanical notes, with outline drawings of leaves, lived in NY’s Hudson Valley…

Last week I visited Martha Stewart's estate (aka 'farm') in Katonah, NY, just 30 minutes from where I live. My garden club had arranged a special tour by Martha's head gardener, Ryan McCallister, and Martha herself was our host for tea on the terrace and a question-and-answer session in her vegetable garden. I found her to be a friendly and hospitable host, and it was fun to see her gardens, her greenhouse and her collection of animals (dogs, horses and…

Do your skin care products have shea butter in them? It is one of the most nourishing things a woman can put on her skin. Cleopatra was supposed to have used and loved shea butter! It has been called 'Women's Gold' because in West Africa, where the raw ingredient is harvested, shea butter is a women's industry. Over the years it has enabled women to improve the quality of life for their families and community. Womanswork After Gardening Skin Care products,…