Share my passion for all things gardening!
When I conducted my reader survey a few months ago, I learned that many of you aren’t Facebook users. I’ve been trying to do a good job of also posting items on my blog. (I hope you have perhaps noticed there are more blog posts these days!) I recently shot a short video on a song sparrow and wanted to […]
Read moreIt can be easy for gardeners to get into a routine of planting the same old vegetable varieties year after year. We all have our favorites, right? Just when we vegetable gardeners thought we had it all figured out, here comes Niki Jabbour. She takes us out of our comfort zone with her latest book, Veggie Garden Remix (Storey Publishing, […]
Read more
Do deer drive you insane? It seems like they are a huge problem in so many areas of the country. As a result, I get a lot of questions about how to keep them out of the garden. While visiting a friend late last summer, I saw how she is dealing with deer — easily and successfully. And you need […]
Read more
I recently wrote that February is the month to pot up any geranium plants you may have overwintered. Well, it’s also time to pot up your overwintered Canna lily bulbs. That’s pretty exciting, right? Think of how nurseries and garden centers sell a single potted Canna lily for anywhere from $6 to $12 each. This method is well worth your […]
Read more
Our winter has been unseasonably mild for the most part. In December, we did have a spell of some very cold temperatures. I was sure it wiped out my lettuce crop in the hoop house. Well, surprise surprise! It’s back so it’s time for a winter garden update. I was certain the lettuce plants were toast. They certainly looked like […]
Read more
If you overwintered your geraniums using my method of knocking the soil off the roots and storing them in a bag or box, it’s time to pot them up again. I don’t know about you, but that’s exciting because it means spring really is coming! I just potted up mine and had fairly good results from the overwintering process. There […]
Read more
I recently wrote about using “vernalization” for starting artichoke seeds. There are two other seed-starting terms that you might find both interesting and useful. Those are stratification and scarification and they apply to the seeds of different plants. I thought it might be helpful to define and elaborate on all three terms here. That way, so everything is together in […]
Read more
For the past couple of years, I have been growing microgreens. Why? They supply us with fresh salad greens during the winter months. I’ve had quite a few readers asking me how to grow microgreens. I decided to shoot a video on the entire process. But first, what are microgreens? Growing them involves thickly sowing seeds that will be later […]
Read more
I know I’m forcing the issue here but I can’t help myself! The bulbs we’ve all known for so many years as Amaryllis are actually called Hippeastrum. So here is an update on how my Hippeastrum is doing! (After all, as a garden writer, I should probably be using the correct terms myself, right?) This gorgeous flower is ‘Papilio’ and […]
Read more
Do you grow artichokes in your garden? I’ve been growing them for quite a few years now and have noticed that the plants can vary widely in productivity. Here in Spokane, Wash., which is in USDA zones 5 and 6, artichokes need to be grown as annuals. Each year, I start the seeds indoors around the first of March. I […]
Read more