How to plant roses So, why didn’t I use the same process to plant both of my rose bushes? Most of us are used to going to the nursery and purchasing a rose bush in a pot. You pick it out at the garden centre and bring it home to plant. This is how I planted my At Last rose. However, Emily Brontë arrived as a bare root rose in the mail....

Today, I’d like to introduce you to several of the unusual flower bulbs that call my garden home. All of them are fully hardy here in my Pennsylvania landscape and take quite nicely to average garden soil. Best planted in the fall, these unusual flower bulbs settle in for a long winter’s nap before popping up out of the soil the following spring to produce their gorgeous blooms. Most of these bulbs have lived in my garden for many years, and every year their colonies grow, with each bulb producing off-sets that help the plants spread....

When to feed houseplants Houseplants wilt when they need water. Their leaves grow pale and lanky when they aren’t getting enough sunlight. When the humidity is too low, they turn crispy; when it’s too high, they may develop rot. But, knowing when your houseplants need to be fertilized is far trickier. There’s no clear signal from your plant that shouts “Hey, it’s time to feed me!”, other than perhaps slowed or stagnant growth, which for many houseplant parents, is barely noticed....

What I love about pink flowers is the range of hues available, so if you’re not into petals with baby pink tones, you might be more drawn to the boldness of fuchsia flowers. There are a lot of options, but I’ve selected a few of my favorites that are in my garden or that I’ve seen on my travels. Pale and medium pink perennial flowers Dianthus There are a lot of beautiful varieties of dianthus and most of them are pink....

I’ve separated my list of deer-resistant annuals into two parts. The first covers sun-loving annuals that the deer don’t like, while the second part is deer-resistant annuals for the shade. I hope you’ll find some new favorites to add to your garden’s plant palette. Deer-resistant Annuals for Sun Flowering tobacco (Nicotiana species) If you’re looking for a sweet-smelling plant you’ll love but the deer won’t, flowering tobacco is it. There are several different garden-worthy flowering tobacco species, cultivars, and hybrids....

Guidelines for harvesting and preserving herbs The real beauty of herbs emerges when you get up close and personal with the plants. Knowing when and how to harvest them involves an intimate connection and firsthand knowledge of each plant’s natural life cycle and reproductive habits. We can all benefit from a daily dose of green enchantment. Ultimately herbs appeal to each of the five senses and have something of value to satisfy the mind, body, and spirit of every person....

How to grow saffron crocus The fall-blooming, purple-flowered saffron crocus grows from a bulb-like structure called a corm. The corms are planted in the spring or early fall. Saffron crocus smells a little like vanilla and spice, and the dried stigmas add a distinct flavor to foods like Spanish paella, rice dishes, and bouillabaisse. To plant saffron crocus, start with high-quality corms. They can be purchased for a reasonable price from several different online companies, including Nature Hills Nursery and Brent and Becky’s Bulbs....

What makes Aster Purple Dome so special? Beyond its gorgeous flower color (the exact shade of the flowers varies slightly, based on the light levels and the maturity of the blooms), Aster Purple Dome has a lot more to offer both the gardener and the late summer garden. A cultivar of the North American native New England aster, Purple Dome is fully hardy in winter temperatures as low as -20°F (USDA zone 5)....

Bearing in mind that there are multiple varieties of Kalanchoe, such as panda plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa), paddle plant (Kalanchoe thyrsiflora), and mother of thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana), among others, I’m going to focus on the flowering kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) that you find at the garden center, grocery store, or nurseries, usually in late fall and early winter when you’ll also find familiar flowering plants like anthuriums and cyclamen for sale. Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is often simply labeled with “Kalanchoe” as the common name on plant tags....

Reasons for pruning blueberries Pruning blueberries is an essential winter chore for several reasons. Proper pruning maintains an open growth habit, which improves air circulation, opens the center of the plant to sunlight, and reduces disease. Annual pruning maintains productivity by encouraging the growth of new fruit-producing stems. Pruning removes dead or damaged branches. Pruning increases fruit quality because the shrub is able to put more energy into producing the fruit, not more leaves....

For me, if I’m overwintering a plant in the garage, propagating a few cuttings is like a little insurance policy in case the overwintered plant doesn’t come back. It’s worth noting, however, that 100 percent success cannot be guaranteed when propagating geraniums either. Plan to take your geranium cuttings from a healthy plant while it is still flourishing and before the weather turns cold, usually in late summer or early fall....

There are several great books on growing food vertically. Three of my favourites include Vertical Vegetables & Fruit by Rhonda Massingham Hart, Grow a Living Wall by Shawna Coronado, and Vertical Gardening by Derek Fell. 5 fun vertical vegetable garden ideas: Salad tower – With a salad tower, you’ll never run out of homegrown greens! Easy to make, this is a cylinder built from a sturdy wire mesh, lined in plastic, and filled with soil....

What is an angel trumpet plant? Angel trumpet is the common name for two distinct, but closely related, species of plants: Brugmansia and Datura. Both are members of a plant family known as the nightshade family (Solanaceae.) These two beautiful flowering plants share the same plant family as familiar edibles such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, tomatillos, and peppers. But, the Solanaceae family is also home to many poisonous and toxic plants, including nightshade, tobacco, and mandrake....

Varieties of Venus fly traps There is only one species of Venus fly trap, Dionaea muscipula, and it is native to a small region of eastern North and South Carolina. Over the years, it has been bred to exhibit different traits, and there are now dozens of different cultivars on the market. Some of the types of Venus fly traps you may come across include ‘Red Dragon’ which has a dark red coloration, ‘Justina Davis’ which is a solid green, ‘Flaming Lips’ which has bright orange traps, and ‘Purple Haze’ which has deep purple traps, among many others....

5 garden tips for the winter Protect your plants: Road salt wreaks havoc on plants and soil. In areas of heavy salt use, soil salinity rises and vital soil life can be affected, not to mention all those tender plant roots and evergreen foliage that simply can’t tolerate being exposed to salt on a regular basis. Protect roadside plantings from salt spray with a shield of landscape fabric erected into a fence with wooden stakes....

The word Coreopsis is derived from the Greek language. Koris means bedbug and opsis means appearance, which is funny because the plant is also referred to as tickseed because the seeds resemble ticks. I’m not sure what’s worse, ticks or bedbugs, but the flowers themselves are cheery additions to any garden. And there are several varieties to choose from, some are perennials and some are annuals. Plants are generally hardy between USDA zones 5 and 9, but some are hardy down to zones 3 and 4....

From trees to groundcovers, we’ve got a plethora of flowers from which adult butterflies can source nectar. But, we also have many of the plant species used as food sources for butterfly larvae. You see, monarchs aren’t the only butterflies with caterpillars who have specific food needs. The larvae of many other butterflies can feed on only one or a small handful of plant species. Today’s post will show you how to build a garden for caterpillars, instead of focusing only on providing nectar sources for adult butterflies....

What is direct seeding? Direct seeding—or direct sowing—is when you plant seeds right in the garden instead of starting seeds indoors under lights or in sunny windows, or purchasing seedlings at the nursery. There are a few different crops that benefit from being direct sown. Some cool-season crops, especially root vegetables, don’t do well when transplanted, and some crops that prefer warm soil before you plant seed, like zucchini and melons, can be sown outside when the timing is right....

3 reasons to care about climate change gardening Climate change gardening influences the health and success of your garden. When you nurture your soil, foster biodiversity, and support pollinators you create a garden that is more resilient to the challenges of climate change. Here are 3 reasons to care about climate change gardening. Extreme weather – The impact of weather related challenges like droughts, storms, precipitation, flooding, and above or below normal temperatures can be reduced with climate change gardening strategies....

The leaves are dropping in earnest now, and while my post last week offered you 6 reasons to NOT clean up your garden this fall, I didn’t discuss what to do with all the leaves that collect on the lawn. Raking is one of my least favorite garden chores (and it IS a chore!), and while you don’t have to rake every last leaf out of your perennial beds (nor should you; again, see last week’s post for some of the reasons why), you do have to get the bulk of the leaves off the lawn....