…in them. Pure magic. I feel like I literally saw a romano bean seedling emerge triumphantly from rain-pounded crust we’ll call soil. Glorious! The first plants we seeded this year, artichokes (planted in the greenhouse, March 18) went into the ground today, immediately jettisoned their dead leaves and stood a little prouder. Victory! One week after planting yellowed, scraggly, sad looking tomato plants (1,520 total), their growing tips are green…
Do critters prevent you from planting bulbs? Try some of Ann’s techniques for keeping deer and rodents at bay. Foil bulb-eating critters by planting daffodils, grape hyacinths (muscari) and other bulbs that deer, chipmunks and rabbits tend to avoid. Spray tulips, such as Stresa and Scarlet Baby, with Liquid Fence repellent to keep deer and bunnies from eating them. “I’ve tried bulbs, but th…
Pot your own bulbs for indoor blooms — it’s easy! Tuck hyacinth bulbs into a pot of soil before chilling in the refrigerator for 13 to 15 weeks. Flower bulbs are one of my parents’ favorite holiday gifts and something that they look forward to receiving each year. I’m not sure which they enjoy more: watching them grow or the ultimate flower display. Sharing the project with friends and family is no doubt part of the app…
Take a springtime walk through Lakewold Gardens, a casual, intimate garden that’s just south of Tacoma in Washington State. Lakewold Gardens, just south of Tacoma, Washington, is an estate garden with a casual, intimate appeal. Though the famous landscape architect Thomas Church was commissioned to help the owner design the 10-acre site, the garden’s small, enclosed rooms, narrow pathways and framed vistas feel very private. W…
…Better airflow means less chance for diseases, such as powdery mildew. To renew the viburnum hedge, I used a pruning saw to take out about a third of the older branches — right at ground level. Then, I reduced the height by 1 to 2 feet. The “tough-love” pruning looks a little harsh, but the effort will pay off. After you’ve thinned the shrub, stand back and take out branches that don’t “fit” the structure…
From Seed to Harvest in 23 Days I’m still waiting for spring. Waiting — impatiently — to get out there and garden. But no matter the weather, you can grow and harvest a crop of microgreens just a few weeks. Kind of takes the edge off. Spring is coming. It’s so close, I can taste it. For more information, read the article,…
Want to grow lettuce from early spring on into the fall? It’s all a matter of choosing the right varieties. For a long season of salad greens, plan on buying at least eight or 10 different kinds of seeds. An early spring crop of lettuce. For a succession of greens from spring to fall, read How to Grow Salad Greens All Year Long. More Information How to Grow Salad Greens All Year Long: A detailed guide to ensuring a steady crop fro…
My favorite spring task involves a very sharp pair of red-handled pruning shears Lilacs set their flower buds the year before they bloom. When the first really fine spring days arrive, I’m eager to get out into the yard and start cleaning up the twigs and leaves strewn about the lawn, the fallen stems of last year’s perennials, and frost-heaved annuals. My favorite job isn’t at the end of a rake, though. It involves a very sharp pair of…
…r germination, seedlings require regularly spaced rainfalls totaling at least one inch per month through March for peak bloom. The deserts seldom receive such ample moisture, and optimal conditions occur only about once every 10 years. Less spectacular — but still tourist-worthy — wildflowers may appear every three to four years, with some species thriving while others flag due to the wildly variable weather conditions that occur at different el…
…nd what went into producing it. So how come I can’t have the right to know what’s in the food I buy in the store? That’s the goal of the Just Label It campaign, which last month submitted a record-breaking 1.1 million signatures to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in favor of labeling genetically engineered (GE) foods. And in polls by ABC, MSNBC, NPR, the Washington Post, Consumer Reports and others, consistently…