SO YOU WANT TO GROW PERENNIALS By Dr. Leonard Perry Extension Nursery and Greenhouse Crops Specialist University of Vermont Annuals are easy. You pick up a six-pack at your local garden center and just pop them in the ground. No fuss, no muss. Perennials require more decisions. That’s because mistakes made with annuals are gone with the end of the […]

With springtime just around the corner, optimism abounds. Red Sox fans think World Series; school children hope for straight A’s; and gardeners dream of their vegetables, fruit, and flowers to come. My seed catalogs are dog-eared, the dilly beans are gone and it’s too early to plant much in the windowsill. So, what else is there to do but plan […]

PATRIOTIC PERENNIALS: A NEW GARDENING TREND FOR 2002 By Dr. Leonard Perry Extension Nursery and Greenhouse Crops Specialist University of Vermont After the events of fall 2001, a new trend in flower gardening is  emerging, that of planting perennial gardens with a patriotic theme.  This trend calls for using only plants with a patriotic name or only red, white,  and […]

THE ALL-AMERICA FLOWER SELECTIONS FOR 2002 With patriotism reaching a new high in recent months, planting All-America Selections (AAS) flowers in the garden seems very appropriate.  And you have plenty of choices this year as eight new varieties have earned the AAS designation for 2002, along with five vegetables for a total of 13 winners. How does a flower become […]

RESPONSIBLE GARDENING By Dr. Leonard Perry Extension Greenhouse and Nursery Crops Specialist University of Vermont The issue of native plants has been the subject of quite a few articles and seminars these past few years. The issue involves such questions as “What is a native plant?” And, “How far should a gardener go in planting natives to the exclusion of […]

OF HISTORICAL INTEREST–PERENNIALS AND GARDENS By Dr. Leonard Perry Extension Greenhouse and Nursery Crops Specialist University of Vermont Did you know that some of the plants you have in your garden may have played a role in history? The Native Americans may have used some for medicinal or ceremonial purposes, for example. Other plants were discovered or introduced to this […]

AUTUMN DECORATIONS By Dr. Leonard Perry Extension Greenhouse and Nursery Crops Specialist University of Vermont Autumn is often associated with certain decorations, including cornucopias, garlands, straw or grapevine wreaths, and dried flower arrangements. Although many decorations can be bought ready-made, making your own can be a fun family activity for a fall afternoon. For the cornucopia, which signifies a bountiful […]

POTS AND PLANS             Gardening fads and fashions are as perennial as gardening itself.  This spring giant plants such Colocasia (elephant ears) and Alocasia are all over the covers of gardening magazines and catalogs.  Next year miniatures will probably return, only to be supplanted after awhile by something else.  Editorial ink always flows like water over Niagara Falls, submerging the […]

MYSTERY CACTUS             Last week I dropped in to see one of my daughter’s former teachers.  The teacher has a warm sunny classroom with an array of flourishing potted plants on the windowsills.  It was a midwinter treat to see such luxuriant geraniums and aloes.  I just missed the blooming period of a large jasmine, but from the size of […]

Recently a friend who is a great gardener told me about the Garden State Heirloom Seed Society, and its website, www.historyyoucaneat.org. According to its founders, the website is devoted, to “New Jersey heirloom fruits and vegetables, and their culinary, medicinal, and historical value, to food and history-lovers around the globe. The site is fascinating. An essay written by Joseph Cavanaugh, […]