I was not aware that, left to its own devices for a dozen or so years, winter creeper plants can grow into trees with trunks the size of my ankle. It’s a plant that matures seeds with a vengeance, banking up future baby winter creepers for years to come. In other words, […]
A lot of people hurt themselves gardening. Much can go wrong out there, from pruning your finger instead of the branch to straining your back from picking up a pot that you knew was way too heavy. I hate to be naggy, but I’d also like to see fewer gardeners hurt themselves. […]
Every new growing season brings a boatload of new plant introductions, most of them trumpeting some sort of improvement or new twist, if not one-of-a-kind break-throughs. They can’t all be better, can they? The short answer is no. Many are more of the same, and some aren’t even as good as what’s […]
Picking the best plants makes a big difference in whether your landscape thrives or withers. Genes matter. So how do you sort the strong from the weak? One way is to lean on the experience of the experienced. Each year, organizations of growers, horticulturists, researchers, and other plant experts bestow […]
Gardeners have to overcome erratic weather, sidestep a laundry list of potential bug and disease threats, and beat back attacks by deer, voles, and groundhogs to grow a decent plant. So why would any sane gardener ever consider cutting a healthy tree or shrub to the ground? I can think of a […]
The 2019 Philadelphia Flower Show’s hippie-throwback, “Flower Power” show is history, and the page now turns to next year’s show that will feature plants and gardens of Mediterranean climates. “Riviera Holiday” is the proposed title of the 2020 Philadelphia show, and it’ll take place next Feb. 29-March 8 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. […]
That post I wrote two weeks ago commiserating my new deer problem drew more feedback than anything I’ve ever written here. Apparently, deer-eaten plants is an even worse issue than I thought… and it’s one that seems to bring out a lot of passion, compassion, and empathy. Lots of fellow gardeners wrote […]
“Flowers on Parade” is the theme of the 2019 Pennsylvania Garden Show of York, which runs Friday through Sunday (March 1-3, 2019) in the York Expo Center’s Memorial Hall, 334 Carlisle Road, York. The 2019 show features eight display gardens built by local landscapers, a marketplace with nearly 100 home and garden exhibitors/vendors, […]
Thomas Edison, America’s greatest inventor, and Henry Ford, the father of the moving assembly line and his namesake car company, had more in common than fame, innovation, and a whole lot of money. They both also were very interested in plants. Edison was especially keen on bamboo and thought it would make […]
One gardening challenge I’ve never had to deal with is arguably the worst one: deer. These four-legged eating machines can take out half of a yard’s landscaping in a single night. And they’ve learned that people aren’t a threat but rather a sign that tasty vegetation is nearby. Groundhogs, voles, chipmunks, and […]