A Michigan cottage I often visited as a child had an old deer head over the door known as George. He’d been there for decades and his antlers were used as a hat rack. But he had an ancient, moth-eaten dignity about him, and I always think of George when I see a grand staghorn […]

Phillip Johnson’s “Glasshouse” in New Haven, Connecticut, is one of the icons of mid-century modern architecture. Steel-framed and glass-walled (hence its popular name) it seamlessly blends indoors and outdoors. It’s sophisticated simplicity has been the pattern for much early-21st century design. The photograph below, from my book, The Midcentury Modern Landscape,  shows a Johnson-inspired modernist […]

Growing flowers in winter gives cheer to cold, gray, snow-covered days and can make you feel that spring is truly just around the corner. An array of beautiful flowering plants can be “forced” into blooming no matter how frigid and dreary the outside world is. And if you own a greenhouse, you can create a […]

What would September be without dahlias? Oh, there would still be flowers in the garden—anemones, turtlehead, asters, goldenrod, even some hostas—but none of them packs a punch of color like dahlias. Red, purple, white, pink, yellow, orange, every color but blue can be found in dahlias. They stand on stiff, hollow stems that can be […]

It’s that time of year when horticultural trade shows deliver the best and brightest for next year’s market. I was lucky enough to attend several, including the Independent Garden Center Show in Chicago and the FarWest Show in Portland, Oregon. That’s where I met up with Nancy Buley, Communications Director of the wholesale company, J. […]

“Mighty oaks from little acorns grow” is an old adage loaded with meaning, but one with special significance, I think, for us gardeners, knowing as we do that every garden begins with a seed. Seed can be “seed money” that lets us purchase a plot of land or rent space in a community garden. Seed […]

Pots are essential in a greenhouse, but picking which pot to use for which plant isn’t always easy. The options come in many different shapes and sizes as well as different materials and colors. So how do you select the best pot for a particular purpose? A few tips will help. Choosing a pot of […]

Pots are essential in a greenhouse, but picking which pot to use for which plant isn’t always easy. The options come in many different shapes and sizes as well as different materials and colors. So how do you select the best pot for a particular purpose? A few tips will help. Choosing a pot of […]

This month I’m looking at what can happen when private gardeners take their passion public. Streissguth Gardens is a private/public enterprise that could be duplicated in neighborhoods all over the country. Recently, I went for an urban hike with friends on the east side of Seattle’s Lake Union. On Blaine Street, we arrived at a […]

Mulch: the magic M-word that every gardener should know and practice, in the garden and even in the conservatory. Why mulch? Some may think that mulch is just cosmetic, improving the looks of a garden. That it does, but it’s main attraction is far more complex­­—and interactive set of attributes that keep the garden looking […]

Gardeners have a different perspective on the weather than most people. We are cheered by July downpours and winter storms that spread insulating snow. We love cool, wet springs that lengthen bloom time, while other people are anxiously waiting for the year’s first shorts-and-T-shirt day. Stretches of hot summer days may delight children and beachgoers, […]

When summer arrives in Rhode Island, I move everything out of my greenhouse in preparation for a cleaning blitz, including window cleaning. It’s easy to clean the outside of the windows year-round because no plants are in the way. But when the greenhouse is full, cleaning the inside of the windows is difficult because access […]