Cats and dogs train their owners to stick to a regular schedule. But plants are on their own timetable. Watering every Wednesday and Sunday, like clockwork, doesn't cut it. Some (most) plants need to dry out between waterings. Some must never be allowed to dry out. If a plant is suffering and you don't know [...]
I got out of the houseplant habit for a while. Except for the odds and ends and amaryllis bulbs I grew in the greenhouse window over my kitchen sink, my windowsills were bare. For years, I had enough creatures to take care of. I put houseplants outdoors in summer and pretty much forgot about them [...]
I did it! After years of sinking money into things that don't show - chimney liner, new oil tank, electrical upgrades, insulation, etc. etc. etc. - I finally got to do something I want. The entire yard on the east-southeast side of my yard is lawn no more. Never again will I have to tip [...]
Karen Bussolini will be speaking at the virtual Great Lakes Trade Exposition on January 27, 2021.
Kim Eierman is an environmental horticulturist, landscape designer, speaker, teacher and founder of the horticulture and communications company Eco-Beneficial in Westchester County, NY. It's really easy to turn people off by telling the truth. Even willing, well-intentioned listeners can feel beaten up by too many discouraging facts and figures. Eierman doesn't just tackle the upsetting [...]
Early winter is time for musing and making notes. For assessing successes and failures in our gardens while they're still semi-fresh in mind. We can change course and leave failures behind - there's always next year, right? Why not cozy up with a good book and let some new ideas take root. Winter is a [...]
Without human intervention, most of New England is inclined toward becoming forest. But humans have intervened. When managed land is abandoned, meadows are not periodically mowed and invasive plants are not managed, it is not a pretty picture. If you "let nature take its course" invasive plants will take over.
How do you deal with a stump where you'll be looking at it up close and personal for years? Without resorting to disruptive (and expensive) stump grinding or toxic chemicals?
Red hues in fall are caused by anthocyanins, plant pigments with many protective functions.
Plants that look good in fall and winter abound in prairies. Travels to The Olbrich Botanical Garden, Curtis Prairie and Northwind Perennial Farm in Wisconsin show how to use them in the garden.