So finish up your pumpkin spice latte and take a few moments to whet your appetite for the lush taste of homegrown fruit. Autumn is the best time for planting shrubs, trees, and herbaceous perennials because the cool weather and warm soil give the transplants time to establish roots, starting off their life in your yard on a good foundation. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
With the right care, you can grow a fresh harvest all through the winter. That means when your summer garden has turned up its toes and called it a day, you can be nibbling on fresh sprout slaw or enjoying them roasted with bacon. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. There’s something wonderfully satisfying about pulling a fresh harvest out of your garden in the winter months....
More than just being a magical process to watch, it can also mean you get to play around with interesting varieties you might not find in your local garden center, and learn about your plants much more intimately than you would otherwise. But then! Tragedy strikes and your seedlings come down with a serious case of “damping off.” But what is damping off, you might ask? We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
Many different varieties are available in shades of green, orange, purple, and white. White types need to have their heads sheltered in order to produce a crop with a snowy color and sweet flavor, in a process known as blanching. This isn’t the same thing as the practice of par-boiling veggies by dunking them in boiling water before plunging them into an ice bath that you’re probably familiar with. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
My mother loves broccoli, almost to an absurd degree, and she made sure to instill that love in all of her children. Whether it was roasted with garlic, steamed in butter, or sauteed in a stir fry, I could almost always count on broccoli making an appearance at the dinner table. So when I started growing my own food, including this cruciferous veggie in my garden was a no-brainer. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. As the popularity of immune-supportive herbal remedies increases, so does the demand for healing plants like elderberries. As a result, more farms are adopting the species as a profitable hedgerow, and gardeners include them frequently today in native plant and medicinal gardens. Not much goes into pruning elder trees – the task is simple, particularly if ample space is available for the plants to spread and grow....
Not only does this activity nourish the birds during the hardest time of the year, but I find it immensely entertaining to watch who comes in for dinner. For several years, I served as one of Cornell Ornithology Lab’s “backyard scientists” by counting and identifying the many birds that hung out at my feeding station. I poured a generous line of black oiled sunflower seeds along the four-inch-wide railing around my patio and counted as nearly a hundred grosbeaks feasted on the seeds....
A cheery houseplant (or three) might be just the companion you need for your winter rejuvenation. And many houseplants will last for years if you provide them with the proper care. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. I’ve whittled down a list of 23 of my favorite houseplants that add a splash of color – and I bet you’ll find just the one to warm up your home through the colder months....
These members of the sunflower family attract butterflies, make wonderful companion plants, and will keep blooming up until your first frost, providing wonderful late summer color. And there are many different types of cosmos – not only different cultivars, but different species – giving us even more ways to enjoy them in our gardens. In this article I’ll give you a brief introduction to the main species available to gardeners, and then we’ll get down to business, with a tour of 25 of the best and most beautiful cultivars....
Distinct in flavor and shape from their European cousins, the fruit has a rounded appearance like an apple and skins can be rough or smooth, with colors ranging from creamy pink, pale green, and yellow to bronze and russet, depending on the type. Also different from European varieties, Asian pears are allowed to ripen on the branch from late summer to mid-autumn, and don’t require conditioning in cold storage before eating....
Today, we’ll take a look at a few simple and easy tweaks to the design of your porch and garden that will leave your guests impressed. Inflatable Furniture is Not What it Used to Be Inflatables have moved a long way since it was just Lilos and pool accessories. From stylish inflatable chairs to comfy ottomans and air beds, the boldly designed pieces available today might just provide the extra oomph you were looking to add to your garden....
Gardeners who want the largest possible greens harvest know that a spring and fall planting can optimize the best climate and create delicious, mild-tasting leaves without the plant bolting. But what about when it turns bitter cold? Certain varieties were meant to flourish when the first cold snap hits in the fall. Developed for regions of the world where the growing seasons are shorter and more extreme, these cold-weather kales offer the best outcome for northern growing zones....
Pretty, medicinal, tasty as tea, and easy to grow, you may have grabbed a packet of seeds during your spring fever with plans to liberally sprinkle these plants throughout your garden this year. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. Some say it attracts pests, including aphids. Shudder. Others say it’s a good companion plant for certain vegetables....
Native to Mexico, it has trumpet-shaped blooms that measure two to three inches across. Colors include blue, pink, purple, and white. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. And our round-up of 15 of the best cultivated varieties of morning glories offers an exciting selection from which to choose. In this article, we zero in on how to collect and store seeds for the purpose of planting them the following year....
So that means they will never bother me, right? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Citronella ants swarm aggressively in the fall (and often throughout the year), and these swarms can make their way inside. They pose no threat, but they often frighten homeowners who fear they are termites. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission....
“It’s orange. No… it’s red… I’ve seen it in purple, too,” he explained. I shook my head. “Quite a few options here. What else can you add?” “Uh,” he began, “Oh! The flowers are real weird lookin’. Some look like flames and others look like coral.” We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. The gentleman’s eyes lit up and he said, “Oh, wait!...
Given enough sunlight and the right conditions, the plant will put on a vibrant display of flowers, lending an atmosphere of tropical bliss to the interior of your home. Here in Alaska, I could sure use a little tropical flair inside my house during the dead of winter. Even if the flowers don’t bloom as prolifically as they would outside, you’ve got luscious, green, banana-leaf-like foliage to enjoy all winter....
This species can grow up to 15 feet tall and spread over 10 feet in width, making it ideal for filling large spaces. The shiny evergreen leaves are a dark green when grown in the shade, and when given more sun, they are a lighter green. Both shades make for an attractive lush background. In addition, the reddish-colored twigs and berries contrast beautifully with the foliage. We link to vendors to help you find relevant products....
All of these make the dwarf citrus a valuable plant for modern home gardening. Dwarf citrus trees are simply regular fruit trees that are grafted onto smaller plant rootstock. This means you get the tasty fruit of a normal citrus tree from a plant that works well in landscapes that can’t accommodate a full-size tree. And most importantly, of course, smaller trees mean more easily accessible fruit! Dwarf citrus trees generally grow to be a maximum of 8 to 10 feet tall....
Or maybe “guinea squash,” if you live in the southern states. In other English-speaking parts of the world, including Ireland and the UK, you probably call it aubergine instead. This is also true in Quebec and much of Europe. This pretty word is also used to describe the deep purple color of an eggplant, and I personally love using it in writing whenever the opportunity arises. In English-speaking portions of South Africa, Malaysia, and South Asia, this member of the nightshade family, Solanaceae, is often known as “brinjal....
