A month or two ago, I was watching an English whodunnit and was impressed by the country gardens where the story took place, so I decided that this year I would expand my English country-style flower garden. I purchased seeds for hollyhocks, cleome, rudbeckia, coreopsis, primrose, and columbine and planted them in my basement germination […]

The Anna’s hummingbirds have been in my Pacific Northwest garden all winter. But this month the rufous hummingbirds return. And all kinds of hummingbirds are returning to gardens all over the U.S. So I’m talking with my friend Ciscoe Morris, author, garden expert, and media personality about what plants we can purchase from the nursery […]

The moment has come to sow seeds under glass, on a sunny windowsill or in a glasshouse, to be set out in May when the frosts are finally over — as we diehards in the Front Range sincerely hope! This year I’m determined to grow a flower that I previously was only half-hearted about growing: […]

Along with seeds and plants, potting soil has traditionally been one the most expensive items in my gardening budget. I often used several large bales of Pro-Mix BX every year until I finally decided to make my own planting medium. It isn’t difficult to do. The first step is to decide what ingredients you’ll include […]

What to do? As the west draws ever more settlers to its wide-open spaces, the region becomes more densely packed. Development along the stretch of Interstate 25 pretty much from well north of Denver, and south nearly to Pueblo is fast becoming one giant megalopolis. Yet people want to garden, keen to turn their postage […]

There’s been a couple of snow flurries, but the days are early-spring-balmy and the soil dusty, plants equally so.  It’s a glasshouse moment for sure–watering and fussing over the greenery that lives outdoors in summer, and indoors during winter. So I’ll keep this brief out of necessity, as I’m hard pressed to turn my mind […]

The internet is loaded with gardening advice—good, bad, and atrocious. But excellent online information is available, so it’s worth spending the less-demanding gardening months poking around online. Here’s a sampler of what’s out there in the way of classes, webinars, and podcasts from reliable experts who can help you make the most of your next […]

At this time of year, many greenhouse owners are getting ready to start seeds. I find that pepper seeds take up to three weeks to germinate, so I usually start them first, followed by eggplants, tomatoes, and flowers. However, there’s a problem starting heat-loving plants in a small greenhouse in late winter. The seeds of […]

When the city has only the colors of brick, slush, and concrete, green is precious. That’s why we plant evergreens. Just about every yard I see has some evergreen tree or shrub. There are tiny tidy boxwoods in pots. There are towering spruces. There are rows and rows of arborvitaes, the go-to plant for privacy […]

We’re living in interesting times – honestly, I wish the days were rather more dull. In Colorado along the Front Range where I garden (fitfully it must be admitted), records from 1 July to 17 December report just 1.07 inches of rainfall in Denver. In Colorado Springs, we’ve had a few drops and some snowflakes […]

This is the time of year when we can imagine our gardens of the future. But how do we know which plants to choose? Today, I’m turning to Janet Sluis, Director of Plant Development Services and the curator of plants in the Sunset Plant Collection and the Southern Living Plant Collection. Essentially, she auditions plants. […]

The steppe-like conditions in my garden – with no rain for the past few months but what seems like an eternity – puts trees and much else in the garden at risk from what will probably be a brute of a winter, if one believes the old adage that many berries signal a lean, mean […]