Helleborus – Perennial Plant, How to grow

From the Greek helein, to kill, bora, food; some species are poisonous (Ranunculaceae). Hellebore. Hardy perennials, often retaining their leaves through the winter, with thick fibrous roots. All flower early in the year and the flowers are long lasting. Most of them have handsome, leathery, divided leaves, sometimes spiny. They are natives of southern Europe and western Asia. Species cultivated […]

Indoor Winter Gardening Questions

How to treat unplanted spring-flowering bulbs, amaryllis when through flowering, and houseplants dropping leaves, are some of the common indoor gardening questions this time of year.    Many also ask if there are food crops that you can grow indoors during winter. If you purchased spring-flowering bulbs this fall but didn’t get them all planted, what should you do with them?  Such […]

Winter Garden Clean Up

As winter approaches, it’s tempting just to sit back and put your feet up and not have to think about the garden until springtime. However, just a bit of extra work at this time of the year can save you a whole lot of hassle come planting time. Garden clean-up, the last big chore for gardeners, is often overlooked, especially […]

Winter protection for Trees and Shrubs

In addition to materials laid directly upon the ground or the plants, there are types of winter covering that involve building a shelter of burlap or similar material about the plants and wrapping the aboveground parts in hay, straw, paper and other protective materials. Evergreens, even kinds considered fairly hardy, are much more susceptible to winter injury than are leaf […]

Growing Poinsettias in the Greenhouse

This is the time to set Poinsettias under way. If last year’s plants were kept for growing on for another season they should now be brought from their resting quarters and given a location in which the maximum of light is available. Light is a vital need if Poinsettias are to form worthwhile bracts. Lack of light may show healthy […]

October Gardening Tips

If you’re wondering what gardening tasks to perform in October, first you need to understand your gardening zone.  Now you understand your gardening zone, below defines the tasks to perform for your garden. Zone 1 Finish planting container-grown trees and shrubs Plant needle-bearing evergreens early in the month If the month is dry, repeat the September soaking Check ties on […]

THE STINKING HELLEBORE – Gardening

My mother, a woman for whom good taste meant a great deal, would not have approved of Sarah, our gray half-grown kitten. Sarah, for whom happiness and flatulence seem inextricably linked, is not always fit for polite company. Fortunately she loves to go out into the garden. Mother would also have looked askance at another denizen of my beds, the […]

PROTECTING PLANTS FROM WINTER DAMAGE

Besides ice dams on the roof and piles of snow in the driveway, horticultural injury is a fact of life during northern winters. Surprisingly, there are many ways that otherwise long-lived plants may meet their demise in between growing seasons. Direct injury from exposure to cold temperature is the most obvious, and as a result, most gardeners and homeowners pay […]

Flowers for Winter Wedding

While it’s true that most weddings take place in spring and summer, many couples choose a winter date for the “big event.” According to the Society of American Florists, 13 percent of weddings take place in the winter, with 11 percent of those being Christmas weddings. Summer weddings account for 35 percent, spring weddings 29 percent, and autumn weddings 23 […]

In Praise Of Paperwhites

The longer I garden, the more I think that I need a little gardening every day.  This can be as little as ten minutes spent raking leaves or tending the houseplants or reading a good garden book.  In a pinch it can even be the time I spend getting the apple peelings out to the composter and giving the cylinder […]