When is it “safe” to plant the tomatoes and summer flowers? That’s a question gardeners wring their compost-stained hands over every year at this time – especially the eager ones who don’t want to miss a day of potential frost-free grow time. Not that long ago, Harrisburg-area gardeners could rely on the […]
Organizations of growers, horticulturists, researchers, and other plant experts each year bestow assorted awards on what they believe to be the best of the best plants. Some of these award-winners are new introductions. Others are under-known or under-appreciated oldies-but-goodies that deserve more use in home gardens. Here’s a look at plants that […]
We’ve had purple- and dark-blue-skinned tomatoes for years now, but this month marks the arrival of the world’s first tomato that’s a true, dark purple throughout. For now at least, it’s called simply The Purple Tomato, and it’s a bioengineered cherry-type tomato that gets its purple coloring from the genes of a purple […]
If you pay attention to which plants tend to croak in our winters – and as a gardener, you should – you’ve probably noticed less cold-weather mayhem over the past 20 years or so. Although our temperatures can nosedive to zero or below, that’s been happening less and less. And as a result, […]
A hydrangea with dark leaves, a mock orange that reblooms, and an inkberry holly that solves the “bare-legs” problem are among the most interesting new trees and shrubs hitting the market for the 2024 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts mentioned the following 12 choices for my annual January […]
A cross between coneflowers and gloriosa daisies, a new variety of a little-known native plant, and the smallest native Joe Pye flower yet top the list of interesting new perennials debuting in the 2024 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked the following 14 choices for my annual January […]
A super-cold-hardy dusty miller, a double-award-winning purple-blooming agapanthus, and a whole new type of succulent are among a slew of interesting new annual flowers debuting in the 2024 growing season. Growers, local garden centers, and other plant experts picked those and more for my four-part, best-new-plants series that I compile each January – […]
A lot of winter is still staring us in the face, but for gardeners, it’s a time to dream about the many plants already awakening in greenhouses. Some of these plants will be new to the market in 2024 – improvements or new twists that haven’t been grown in home gardens yet. […]
The National Gardening Association’s 2023 National Gardening Survey found that an estimated 80 percent of American households are taking part in some sort of lawn or gardening activity. That’s a five-year high and comes despite markedly higher prices in plants and gardening supplies. What form will that interest take in 2024? Here’s […]
Now that another gardening season is in the bag, it’s a good time to look back and see what lessons we can draw from it. The 2023 gardening year was another one that brought us lots of twists and turns, not the least of which was more erratic weather and feast-or-famine rainfall. […]