Spring is a wonderful time of year to be in the garden. As the temperature starts to rise, new life emerges from the darkness of winter, and wildlife comes out from hibernation, our gardens once again become a hub of activity. The most attractive spring gardens are home to a variety of plants, from colourful
Month: May 2023
Today we’re in chilly Zone 4b, visiting Susan Warde’s Minnesota garden. Before my husband and I bought our current home in 1981, we’d pass it on neighborhood walks. Gazing at the sunny front yard, I’d say to myself, “Now if I lived there, I’d put an edging of marigolds up the front walk.” And so
Today we’re in Altadena Meadows, California, visiting Andrea Donnellan’s beautiful garden. This is a space she created with the designer Arturo Pedroza. He designed the garden and put in the initial plants. That has evolved into a gardening partnership over the years. When her son was small, they put in a lawn and then later
Today we’re headed to Newbury Park, California, to visit with Wayne Jones, who has been gardening there for 30 years. Wayne’s mother was a very impressive gardener, and he is clearly carrying on the tradition! Gorgeous lush leaves of leopard plant (Farfugium japonicum, Zones 7–10) give an almost tropical feel to this corner of the
Are you interested in growing your own fresh organic vegetables but worried that it will take up too much of your time? Well, let me tell you that with just 8 hours of effort per year, you can enjoy a bountiful harvest of organic produce right from your own backyard! I have been gardening for
Every garden has gaps that need to be filled from time to time. Whether you are looking for a short-term stand-in while a bed is being reworked or a quick fix after another plant dies, it is nice to have a list of pinch-hitters that can step in and fill space quickly. Listen in as
If you already know tomatoes, you might want to shred this booklet and use it as mulch. If you’re new to growing tomatoes, but don’t want to be bothered, we can keep it simple for you: plant deeply in a sunny patch of good soil that is well-watered, and come back in two months. If
Cherry Ong is taking us on another trip, today to a beautiful public garden in Surrey, British Columbia. She says, “Been itching to visit Darts Hill Garden Park to see the spring ephemerals and the alpine garden. Got my wish today!” Darts Hill was the home and garden of Edwin and Francisca Darts, and they
You’re in for a treat. Unlike those hard, uniform tomatoes you get at your grocery, your fruit will come in a wide range of shapes, and its flavors will be so much better. Let’s get started! Ripeness & Storage: You may love fried green tomatoes (we do), but in general, the key to great fruit
Today we’re visiting with Suzanne Pearce in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia. My husband, Bruce, and I submitted photos to GPOD in 2021 (Spring in British Columbia). At the time I did not include photos of our lower garden, so here are a few. Bruce passed away on May 30 last year, and I
Being a gardener comes with the understanding that, for the most part, you are in a cooperative relationship with Nature. It’s an ongoing relationship of learning to become a more capable manager of the favorable and unfavorable conditions and variables that present themselves. Acceptance In the past, I’ve experienced major disease loss (10,000 plants killed
Today on the GPOD we’ve got photos from Laurel Prothro, gardener at Arrington Vineyards in Nashville, Tennessee. We just went through an exhausting reset of the hardscape, removing masses of dead laurels after the catastrophic freeze we had earlier in the year. We had to remove our main front and center deodar cedars (Cedrus deodara,
The following is a list of tomato terms I assembled to provide you useful information while you shop for the most suitable varieties of tomatoes for your garden. Beefsteak – A type of tomato rather than a variety (although there really is a particular variety named ‘Beefsteak.’) Usually considered a large, irregular shaped tomato with
We’re back today visiting with Susie Zimmerman in her beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska, garden. The garden beds are planted densely and are overflowing with flowers. Just because you garden in a cold climate doesn’t mean you can’t have incredible gardens. Susie calls her husband “the Undergardener. He’s contributed a lot of hard work in the creation
DATURA — Thorn Apple, Angel’s Trumpet Annual and tender shrubby perennial flowering plants. They are natives of tropical America, Mexico and Europe, and belong to the Nightshade family, Solanaceae. Datura is the old Arabic name. The most familiar kind is Datura (Brugmansia) arborea, which bears large, white fragrant blooms in summer and is a favorite
Today we’re headed to chilly Fairbanks, Alaska, to visit with Susie Zimmerman. Here are a few shots of my garden. I’ve been at it for about 40 years (with a good deal of help from my husband, lovingly referred to as “the Undergardener”), whose main job was to build the house. Where it all started,
Tomatoes are a great, nutritious, and rewarding plant that you can enjoy for many months to come – but how do you grow them? And, more importantly, how to grow tomatoes in pots? If you have a small garden or no garden at all, you can still cultivate these wonderful fruits with just a little