I thought the crowds, the gardens and the nice mix of things to do at this year’s Pennsylvania Garden Expo were better than ever. Hope you got to see this three-day show over the weekend at the Pennsylvania Farm Show complex. Part of The Greenskeeper’s 2012 Pa. Garden Expo display. The highlight for me […]
The motion-picture industry gives out its annual Academy Awards for best performances on Feb. 26. If I could give out Oscars for the best stars of our central-Pennsylvania landscapes, here’s what would get my vote: * Best Lead Actor (Sun): ‘Knock Out’ roses. Yeah, they’ve become so common they’re almost over-used, but […]
So here it is the second week of February, and Punxsutawney Phil – that famous weather-forecasting rodent – is telling us to expect 6 more weeks of winter. I’m wondering when winter is going to start, not when it’s going to end. We’ve been hovering mostly in the 40s and 50s since […]
When you weren’t looking, my wife and I sneaked away on a 12-day cruise to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Antigua and St. Maarten. It was magnificent, and it not only lopped nearly 2 weeks off winter, it gave me a look at plants and gardens of the Caribbean. Click here to […]
One of the most fun things I get to do is lead bus loads of gardeners on tours of some really cool gardens. Most of them are bus day trips, but these botanical jaunts also have taken me to Ireland, the Pacific Northwest, South Africa and this April, to the Netherlands. I […]
I like to shop locally and support Pennsylvania small businesses whenever possible. But sometimes I’m looking for offbeat stuff or unusual varieties that I can only get online or via mail-order. An excellent web site for consumer reviews of these and just about all other mail-order companies is the Dave’s Garden website. […]
I was out inspecting the botanical troops over the weekend, and two things struck me. One is that the landscape is unusually colorful for this time of year. And second is that some of my plants are doing odd things they’re not supposed to be doing in early January. A nice surprise […]
I told you last week that there really are some super plants out there that meet just about all of the conditions we demand these days (four-season interest, no bugs, no disease, low care, tough in heat and cold, etc.) So which ones are they? I could rattle off dozens, but for your […]
Gardeners are a demanding sort these days. Ask people what kind of plant they’re looking for, and most say they want plants that look great in all four seasons and that don’t get bug or disease problems. We want plants that are colorful, that are different from what’s growing in every McDonald’s […]
The lucky winner of my gift basket filled with $180 worth of gardening goodies is… pause for theatrical effect… Kim Hess of Monroe Twp., Cumberland County. Kim and her husband, Mike, are young gardeners who just moved in September to a quarter-acre lot in the suburban development of Monroe Acres. They’re looking […]