It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer. These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”. Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants. Here is why…
In the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year’s Day, several traditional houseplants are available for the holiday season. Most places I visit seem to have Poinsettias, Amaryllis and holiday cactus, and I think most enthusiasts are familiar with these common (but worthy) options. If you look a little closer, you will find…
We dove into oxygenating our indoor spaces with houseplants a couple of weeks ago, and now let’s continue our indoor discussion by investigate some superior pet-friendly options. As the weather continues to cool and the wind and rain ramp up, it becomes easier and easier to garden indoors and work outside a bit less. Many of us have…
The annual human autumn migration from outdoor activities to more indoor focused tasks has commenced, so let us shift gears this week and delve into some houseplants. I spend plenty of time, like I am sure many of you do as well, outdoors in the yard year around. However, there are those days when...
The year was 1970 and I was just about to graduate from college with a degree in plant science. One of my job options was to go to work in Leucadia or Encinitas, California for one of the many foliage companies where plants like Spider Plants, Boston Ivy, Snake Plants, Aglaonema, and Prayer Plants, to name just a few, were propagated by the millions. These plants were sold all over the country to customers much like myself, young and idealistic and wanting to make the world a more loving place to inhabit…
A lot of gardeners wisely move some of their houseplants outside during the summer to give them better light and fresher air. It is a tricky thing to do because light conditions inside our homes are always much more reduced than even the shadiest location in our gardens. Leaves that have been grown inside our homes have thinner cuticles and are consequently more susceptible to sunburn when moved outside. By taking special care to acclimate them, by first placing them in full shade and gradually moving them into sunnier places in the garden, we can usually be successful. That being said, now it is time to reverse this ordeal and bring those little friends back inside and try to keep them happy for the rest of the winter. Here are a few things to consider in this process:
As the temperatures continue to drop, along with all those leaves on our deciduous trees, we are pretty much left with just shades of green in our gardens to look at throughout the winter. There are, of course, quite a few winter-blooming perennials and shrubs that can add some winter interest to our gardens, but as far as bouquets or vases of blooms, the pickins are slim. For those of us that experience color starvation, here are some ideas…
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
The winter solstice is upon us, and I am sure everyone is looking forward to a bit more light each day, eventually steering us towards the great annual awakening of spring. To most gardeners, the idea of year ‘round interest is top of mind, as patrons I speak to year after year look to add specimens into their landscapes that provide that “WOW” factor all year long, including…