In a corner of England, long, long ago, a young woman with visions of the epic garden she was planting, sowed seeds of milk thistle, Silybum marianum. HUGE mistake! Little did I know (yes, moi) that the enchanting, fresh young foliage, shimmering with silvered veins in the Norfolk sunshine, would age to old boot leathers […]

After the heat and stress of the day, evening is a perfect time to enjoy our gardens. So, creating vignettes of what works best in the falling light is important. White flowers are touted for evening and moon gardens because other colors fade back, but the same is true for light-colored foliage, especially the silvers. […]

Forest bathing, or taking an aware walk in the woods, has become popular for its health benefits—it’s known to lower blood pressure and boost immunity. The name is a literal translation of the Japanese term shinrin-yaku, or taking in the forest atmosphere. Last weekend I had a chance to go on a guided forest-bathing walk […]

Heat extremes, aka the Heat Dome, such as we’ve been experiencing this past month is not something any gardener would wish to entertain again. Weather conditions are always the no.1 topic of conversations having to do with horticulture, and, clearly, I’m no exception to this rule. Not only have the plants not tended within the […]

Many vegetables in the garden are now ready to be picked, most notably garlic and onions. Some of the potato plants are also ready for harvest. If you grow as I do, in four-foot (1.2m) wide beds rather than in rows, removing plants from the garden leaves large open spaces. For example, I planted garlic […]

It’s the time to look at other people’s gardens. While public gardens are great at showing you what’s possible in your area, signing up for a tour of private gardens can give you a strong sense of what you could achieve in your own back yard. Plus, you may be able to talk to the […]

Light levels inside greenhouses in winter and spring can often be quite low. Mostly because the glass has become dirty. With a ton of plants in my greenhouse it is difficult to reach the 12 ft (3.7M) rooftop glass.to clean it. The sides can easily be cleaned from outside, but inside it is often difficult […]

In what should have been the busiest time for a gardener in the steppes of the Front Range, this one has, for the past six weeks, been sitting on the sidelines thanks to a knee replacement. Yes, the right leg that has powered the spade for the past few decades has finally given up the […]

It’s that time of year when gardeners go out on the great plant hunt. “There are so many choices out there, “says Richie Steffen. “Some are fine, but there’s a lot of poor-quality plants as well.” Richie should know. He’s the Executive Director of the Elisabeth C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, as well as […]

Does designing your garden ever cease? Or is it an ongoing process, and just like any work of art, it’s never really “finished”? Do you find yourself tweaking planting schemes, altering plans to changing growing conditions…or interests, eliminating this, adding that…I’m certain few gardeners set their patch in stone. Except, literally, when setting paths through […]

If you enjoy the taste of fresh vegetables but do not have a garden or if your garden is your greenhouse, patio, sunroom, gazebo, or solarium, growing fresh vegetables and fruit might seem impossible. But there is a way to do it. All you need do, is grow in pots. This has an advantage over […]

One of the most effective ways to generate a multitude of plants is to grow your own from cuttings that will get a good start in the greenhouse. This month, I’m talking with Nancy Connolly Blum, a professional landscape gardener and former owner of the Sawmill Ballroom Lavender Farm in Oregon. Here are the propagation […]