Last year I finally made it a point to seriously minimize my supply, mostly to get a good season of crop rotation in. I decided to grow just two Romas in my garden for roasting. Mmm… In the past, I’ve used a few different types of cages and they have never worked out like I hoped. Standard cages are too restrictive and typically aren’t tall enough. I’ve also tried stapling chicken wire to garden posts....
Even those of us with shorter growing seasons can grow these Mediterranean vegetables in our gardens with the right planning and cultivars. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Here’s what I’ll cover: Just to make sure we’re on the same page before we get started, this article is about Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus, also known as “globe artichokes,” and not the tubers called “sunchokes” or “Jerusalem artichokes,” which are botanically classified as Helianthus tuberosus....
Requiring little care, it’s the annual groundcover and trellis plant of choice for gardeners everywhere. We’ll take a look at where the morning glory comes from and take a gander at its history in horticulture. But more importantly, we’ll learn what it takes to grow morning glory well, so that it’s at its best. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
This is a good thing because it’s also a plant that you can’t really ever have too much of – unless it starts taking over other plants in your garden, of course! With its gorgeous long-blooming, unique display of flowers that are reminiscent of fireworks, it’s natural to want to spread bee balm around. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
But should you catch any of the season’s unfriendly bugs, fast, effective relief of common symptoms can be found in this herbal brew that’s made with all-natural ingredients available locally or from the garden. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. This recipe is my adaptation of the concentrated decoction for colds and flu from Stephen Buhner’s invaluable manual “Herbal Antibiotics....
Although typically grown indoors, they can also be cultivated outdoors given the proper care, adding foliar interest to your property. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Plus, on top of all that holiday consumerism, hearing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” blaring over the radio on November first is just another sprinkling of salt in the wound....
Those who endure it are sustained by color catalogs from seed, bulb, and plant nurseries; those who defy it resort to greenhouses or windowsills crowded with amaryllis, forced bulbs, and foliage plants. For those of us in hibernal denial, however, there’s another outlet: find plants that actually bloom in winter. Some of these misfits are well known: the Christmas rose (which rarely blooms at Christmas, and in any case is not a rose, but a hellebore, Helleborus niger) and the Lenten rose (Helleborus orientalis) are planted to provide winter bloom....
They are daisy-like flowers that generally bloom from summer into fall. Perennial varieties are suited to USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 8, while annuals grow in all temperate zones. They may be large, like the three- to five-inch blooms of an annual peony China aster, or they may be small, like the half-inch blossoms of a perennial wood aster. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
Just as they do inside your home, an outdoor mat serves a number of purposes in your yard. It can tie together an outdoor grouping (like the type we discuss in our review of the best small space furniture add color to an otherwise bland space, and offer warmth and a softer feel under your feet. Mats also offer protection against hot cement or wood surfaces. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
The red, leathery pomegranates piled high on a produce table in the grocery store may all be of the same variety, but these fruits have a centuries-long history of breeding resulting in more than 500 known cultivars. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. There is a wide range in flavor composition among fruits produced by the various cultivars, including some that are much sweeter than others....
They provide a wide range of sumptuous flower colors and blooms that range from small, nodding bells to extra-large starbursts. The numerous species and hybrids offer an extended growing season, with varieties for spring, summer, and fall flowering times, and many that rebloom as well. Growth habits are as varied as the many species, and range from sprawling, woody lianas to tidy, herbaceous ground covers. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
In fall, the days are cooler but the sun still shines. The ground is warm while the air has that crisp little nip in it. It’s the perfect time to get out into your garden and enjoy the new season. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. What makes a landscape feel like autumn?...
Well, don’t let your dreams just be dreams. Turn ’em into reality with a hearty dose of carnivorous plant knowledge, on the house. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Here’s a preview of what’s ahead: Hopefully, you’ll have gained an even greater respect and appreciation for predatory plants by the time you reach the end of this guide....
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Those quirks give rise to common names for the various species like silver dollar plant, worm plant, jade necklace, and calico kitty. They share many traits and growing requirements, but they don’t often look that similar. I’ll introduce you to this intriguing genus and then let you decide for yourself which ones should make their way into your houseplant or Zone 11 to 12 outdoor perennial collection....
It makes a fast-growing and attractive plant in containers or herb borders, and features upright growth, slender green and silver leaves, and a distinct, appealing fragrance. The fresh leaves are used in a variety of dishes, such as those with eggs, fish, mushrooms, tomatoes, and poultry, and are noted for their use in French cuisine and sauces. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Our guide to growing succulents in the garden has all you need to know to establish and care for a variety of succulents outdoors. This guide discusses how to grow haworthias indoors. Here’s a preview of what’s in store: Get ready to meet haworthias! What Are Haworthias?...
But pothos, Epipremnum aureum, is not just easy to keep alive, it’s lush, leafy, and attractive. It’s a darling of office decorators and those in charge of adding life to retail spaces, with good reason. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. If you’re looking for an easy-care addition to grow in a dish garden, freestanding planter, or hanging basket, I’d encourage you to consider pothos....
I was 10, I collected butterfly wings, and I was intrigued. The next day she brought me a clipping complete with a long, arching purple bloom. Knowing I had to have a butterfly bush of my own, I dipped the woody end in an ancient pot of rooting powder, poked it into a pot of soil in my parents’ greenhouse, and promptly forgot about it. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
Plus, once you have a plant going, it will reproduce as long as you let it. That’s because chives send up pretty flowers that turn into seed heads. You can easily harvest these seeds and start a whole new crop. If you’re new to gardening, I think it’s one of the best plants to try for your first attempt at seed saving. Or, if you want to purchase seeds, they’re not too difficult to start....
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. What Is Rutabaga? Also known as Swedish turnip, fall turnip, or simply a Swede, this under-appreciated cross between a turnip and a cabbage is a great addition to any autumn garden! Rutabagas are brassicas, similar to turnips, but they have a sweeter flavor, larger roots with golden flesh, purple and yellow-tinged skin, and smooth, waxy foliage....
