Did you get a container garden or potted plants for Mother’s Day? I did. The hydrangea my son gave me needs repotting.
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Get inspired as Doreen G. Howard shares her backyard gardening tips. After all, she has grown more than 300 varieties of heirloom edibles and flowers the past two decades! Enjoy a nice mix of garden chat from news about exciting new vegetables to advice on container gardening to photos of unusual houseplants growing in her home! Doreen welcomes questions from everyone in the gardening community, from the expert to the enthusiast. This is your chance to ask all your puzzling plant care questions and just stay informed about the world of gardening. Check it out and tell us what you think!
Tomatoes From Seed the Easy Way
April 28, 2011
Planting Tomato Seeds
The National Garden Bureau has designated 2011 as The Year of the Tomato, with hopes that even non-gardeners will grow a plant or two to enjoy fresh flavor at a fraction of the cost of grocery-store tomatoes.
read morePlant critter-proof plants and flowers!
April 21, 2011
For the last ten days, spring has played tag with winter here, and it’s snowed four times, between 70-degree days. Yet, garden centers are brimming with bedding plants, and the calendar says I should be planting. Hopefully, next week I can load up the cart at the nursery and get into the garden. Meanwhile, I’m evaluating the plants available and drawing a planting map.
read moreApple blossoms mean bagging starts in a week or two.
April 13, 2011
I’m an organic gardener and demand that my crops be free of chemicals. Apples are the most pesticide-and-fungicide-laden foods grown commercially and in home gardens.
read moreThe ABC's of Fertilizing Containers
March 31, 2011
A continuous supply of nutrients and fertilizer is an absolute for lush container bouquets and productive edibles, I learned the hard way as a novice gardener.
read moreMake Your Own Potting Mixes
March 29, 2011
Container gardens are on my mind, as the winter chill is easing. I like to grow a few pots of various vegetables and flowers before the usual frost-free date here, May 15, to get a jump on summer.
read morePlant these radishes for their tasty seed pods
March 27, 2011
Forget those crunchy, bland, red, pink and white radishes found on relish plates. They’re tasteless in comparison to Rat Tail radish pods.
read moreStinky corpse flowers put on a good show indoors
March 22, 2011
I look forward to the vivid burgundy vase-like, stinking corpse flowers of March every year— which coincidentally flower around Easter. That is when Easter is at the end of March or early April, rather than falling so late this year.
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Last week, there was a foot of slushy snow on the ground. Today, as I cleaned out the front flower bed, trimmed roses and admired the daffodil and woodland hyacinth sprouts, I spotted crocus in the middle of the lawn.
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With thoughts of crisp blue potato skins heaped with bacon bits and melted cheese, I planted my first All Blue potato in 1990. I’ve been hooked ever since. I even eat blue mashed potatoes.
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I’m able to trial the new flowers and plants a year or two before they come to the market. A few I’ve grown recently are stunners and will be in garden centers in 2011!
read moreHeart-shaped cucumbers make debut
February 17, 2011
I missed it two weeks ago, but Sainsbury, the largest grocery chain in the United Kingdom, premiered heart-shaped cucumbers for Valentine’s Day customers.
read moreBanish the winter blues by preparing for spring
February 9, 2011
After the blizzards and sub-zero temperatures of the last two months, I’m more than ready for spring. I’m also depressed by the endless gray, cold days filled with intermittent snow storms. So, I’m banishing the blues by doing a few winter chores so I can hit the ground running when the first crocus pop.
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My birthday is a week before Valentine’s Day and floral arrangements from either or both my husband and son were a given until I diplomatically cried, “No more cut flowers, please! I want a flowering plant that I can enjoy year-round.”
The instant flowers are cut, they begin their journey towards death. With a flowering plant, especially cold-loving cyclamen or hellebores, the gift is just the beginning.
read moreKnow your dirt: soil types in the garden
January 21, 2011
As you flip through seed catalogs assembling your wish list, think about dirt. It's the most important element for success with fruit, flowers and landscape plants. Find out what type of soil is in your garden. It affects how and what will thrive for you.
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