Gardening in soggy soil can be tough enough without the added challenge of shade. While the usual suspects in such conditions - ferns, iris, astilbe and hosta - are beautiful, if you're looking for a more interesting or architectural planting, it can … [Continue reading]
Planting for deer can be hard sometimes. You read all the books, buy "deer-resistant" plants, and the buggers still munch everything to the ground and give you that blank-eyed "what? I'm a deer!" stare when you shake your fist at them. No, it doesn't … [Continue reading]
Trey Pitsenberger, owner of Golden Gecko Nursery, is a constant agitator in favor of independent nurseries, common-sense gardening, and truthfulness in marketing. His latest target? Miracle-Gro's idiotic desire to stuff their bullshit blue fertilizer … [Continue reading]
Let's be clear: gardening with deer can be frustrating. You read all the books, plant all the right plants, and those hungry mowing machines just tear through your new deer-resistant plantings like they're candy! And then leave poops on your lawn to … [Continue reading]
You all know how much I love my Bahco pruners. I usually recommend you buy from Amazon, which has the Bahcos without replaceable parts for only $17 before shipping ($22 with shipping). But an alert reader who is handy with the Google skills … [Continue reading]
Jumping right into this week's Cool Stuff, there have been some wonderful new books published recently that I've reviewed over on Amazon. Mark Diacono's The Food Lover's Garden was a hit with me - fuchsia fruit leather? Daylily fritters? Yes, … [Continue reading]
My latest post over at the Christian Science Monitor garden blog Diggin' It is about my favorite types of variegated rhododendrons. I'm lucky enough to have a rhododendron specialty nursery in my community, so in addition to the horrible, boring … [Continue reading]
Recently I had a client who wanted some plants tucked behind her waterfall. The waterfall had been built right up against her fence, so there was no real planting area - you can't just pile up soil against a fence, of course. Enter the Smart … [Continue reading]
It's that time of the week again, where I find the awesome online and bring it to you. First off, the ever-brilliant Michael King from Perennial Meadows advises that this is the time of year to scatter seeds of all those old-fashioned biennial … [Continue reading]
I am adoring Wicked Bugs, the latest from author Amy Stewart. She's back with more deliciously morbid musings, this time about the insects, spiders, and squirmy things that have us so outnumbered that for each one of us, there are two hundred million … [Continue reading]
If you've been wanting to incorporate more native plants into your garden, either for the wildlife benefit or simply for that touchpoint with your natural surroundings, it can feel like a challenge when you already have an existing garden. But the … [Continue reading]