The heat and humidity of a typical Harrisburg summer is enough to make it seem as if we’re living in the tropics. If that’s the case, we may as well grow with the flow. Plenty of tropical plants do nicely here as summertime in-ground, landscape plants. They think they’re at home. […]
Sometime in the next few weeks, millions of locust-like bugs called cicadas will emerge from 17 years of slumber underground. They’ll screech and fly around some 24 counties in central Pennsylvania for about six weeks, no doubt causing plenty of gardeners to fear that their plants are doomed. Although the cicada’s Biblical-proportion […]
The crown jewel of the Dutch bulb industry is the world-famous Keukenhof garden, a 79-acre, bulb-studded color show that wows 1.4 million flower-gawkers each spring. The place is only open for seven weeks from late March until mid-May, but if you’ve ever seen it, you know why it’s so popular. Keukenhof is certainly […]
Now that we’re into May and usually past the point of killing frost, the big question on gardeners’ minds is exactly when is it “safe” to plant the summer flowers and vegetables? Those are the plants that will croak on frosty nights… things like zinnias, marigolds, and begonias in the flower garden and […]
Trees are the most expensive plants in the landscape budget. They not only cost the most at purchase time, but pruning and other care can chew up some dollars over the years. And if you have to have one cut down? Well, let’s not think about that bill. Picking a tree is […]
Some plants are way over-used – even though they’re trouble-plagued – simply because they’re familiar. Others are way under-used – even though they’re virtually bullet-proof – simply because they’re not well known. The arrival of a new gardening season is a good time to do something about that imbalance… to opt for […]
Not to insinuate that you’ve been lousing up your yard and garden, but from my travels over the years, it’s apparent that a lot of people are. I’ve seen some sorry stuff going on… plant-killing stuff, work-generating stuff, money-wasting stuff, and just plain trouble. Most of it is due to, as they […]
I saw the 2025 “Gardens of Tomorrow” version of the Philadelphia Flower Show four times last week and gathered these assorted newsy tidbits and observations: The crowd favorite I’ve seen more than 30 Philadelphia Flower Shows now, and it seems that every show brings one particular crowd-pleasing display that everybody talks about. […]
This week’s futuristic-leaning Philadelphia Flower Show is exploring the theme of “Gardens of Tomorrow.” Many of the show’s landscapers, florists, and student display-builders are interpreting where they see plants and gardening heading. The theme also got me thinking about gardening’s future in our little corner of the world. I think it’s […]
I’ve been gradually shedding layers of my career as I’ve inched toward retirement these last few years, and now I’m down to writing for The Patriot-News/PennLive.com, doing a couple of free-lance writing gigs, and running this website. I’ve decided it’s time to scratch No. 3 off that list. As of the end […]