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Calling All Opinionated Gardeners

As Amy mentioned last week, we Garden Ranters will be on a panel at the Independent Garden Center show in Chicago on August 19 talking about ways in which garden centers can promote and sell greener living. Of course, the...

Look. See.

Gardening has opened my eyes to so many other wonderful creations that co-exist with the plants. Some of them I knew were there, but I didn't care about them. Others, I had no clue there were such things. I don't think I'd ever get bored...Show More Summary

Wildflower Wednesday: On The Brink Of Wild

The Great British Snail Swap

I can't remember the last time a BBC story made me so happy. Once again, the Brits prove their superiority in all things horticultural. Could you imagine Americans plucking snails from their garden, making a unique identifying mark on their...

Making A Garden

Beauty in a Box

They say you aren't supposed to say "Thank you" when someone gives you plants. Something about them not growing if you do. But I can't help it. Costa Farms, thank you - many times over. When Fed Ex turned into our driveway this afternoon and delivered a large box, I got all excited to see what was in it when I noticed the return address. Show More Summary

File Under "Fantastic Plant"

This is allium senescens. I bought it unlabeled at a plant sale four or five years ago and have since divided it up and placed it in every impossible spot in my yard--sunny spots in my super-sandy soil that are...

Color Guard yucca & other deer-resistant color

It shows an incredible amount of restraint that I have not planted my entire garden with nothing but ‘Color Guard’ yucca (Y. filamentosa ‘Color Guard’). That color! The starburst form! Those curly, white filaments threading through the sword-shaped leaves! This deer-resistant, drought-tolerant “shrub” will grow in full sun or part shade (in a hot climate), and it’s [...]

Seen Yesterday In Spa State Park

Many New York State parks strike me as monuments to the fear of litigation. The State destroys any lake it touches as a swimming experience with ropes and whistle-happy lifeguards. But I am very fond of the Spa State Park...

Senorita Rosalita cleome mystery

I’ve been touting the delights of ‘Senorita Rosalita’ cleome since trialing two in my back garden last year. Through terrible drought and heat, those cleomes grew bushy and full and bloomed nonstop until fall. Last winter killed them off, but naturally I bought two replacements this spring when I found them at Natural Gardener. Sadly, one [...]

Sewage Sludge or Store-Bought? The Tests Are In.

On the face of it, there's no good reason for a gardener to object to sewage sludge (which we will henceforth call biosolids) in the garden. It's just manure, right? And if they can cook the salmonella and other microbes...

Explanations

Imperial Moth Caterpillars - Eat, Sleep, Poop

We've lost another caterpillar since the last update a week ago, so we've got 11 at present. It was one of the smallest and it may have been a casualty of one of its siblings, since I've seen them biting each other on occasion. TheyShow More Summary

“Eat the day lily in moderation as it is a mild laxative” says Delena Tull…

Cucumbers In An EarthBox®

I mentioned earlier this year that Mom had given her EarthBox® to me and that I was going to grow cucumbers in it. Previous attempts at growing cucumbers had not yielded very good results so I thought I'd give this EarthBox® thing aShow More Summary

In no particular order: observations from a garden tourism destination

Over 350 gardeners took part in Garden Walk Buffalo this year; as you know, I have been one of them for a decade now. Here’s some of what I noticed this year: -The book on garden tourism has yet to...

Public Gardens Rebranding Themselves

In today's NY Times, we learn that public gardens are canceling their flower shows, it's part of a big shift in emphasis at. Forced to rethink and rebrand, gardens are appealing to visitors’ interests in nature, sustainability, cooking, health, family...

Memo to Scotts - Clover and Dandelions are Good Things

Garden writer Marty Ross got two emails from the PR department of Scotts MiracleGro last week, the first one with this headline and first sentence: Clover Taking Over Local Lawns "What: Clover is popping up in lawns all over the...

Garden Designers Roundtable: Move over, prom queens! Give other plants a chance

Image courtesy of morgueFile Do certain gardens remind you of high school, where everyone orbits around the popular girls—Rosa (KnockOut), Stella (D’Oro daylily), and Myrtle (crepe)—simultaneously admiring their peppy beauty and begrudging their general domination? I’m not talking about mean girls. Show More Summary

Allsop Plant Tags - A Review

A couple of months ago, Allsop sent an e-mail asking if I'd like to try a couple of their garden products. Since I'd already reviewed their WheelEasy LE canvas wheelbarrow (and love it), as well as having admired the plant tags for awhile...Show More Summary