What is a Shasta daisy? Known botanically as Leucanthemum x superbum, the Shasta daisy is a hybrid between the European oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare), the Nippon daisy (Nipponanthemum nipponicum), and two other species (L. maximum and L. lacustre). Bred in California in the late 1800s by renowned botanist Luther Burbank, the Shasta daisy received its name from the snow-capped California peak known as Mount Shasta. It grows in a broad range of gardening zones....

What is rhubarb? Perennial plants native to Asia, rhubarb (Rheum x hybridum) is a member of the buckwheat family. Rhubarb plants make a bold statement in the garden, with large leaves and brightly colored stems. When mature, a rhubarb plant grows to a height and width of 3 feet. Each leaf can be between 12 and 18 inches wide. They are very ornamental plants, so don’t hesitate to plant rhubarb in perennial beds and borders, as well as in the vegetable garden or even in raised beds....

Admittedly, when I graduated from college with a degree in horticulture, I was a chemical pesticide “junkie.” I used a broad assortment of synthetic pesticides to control pest insects in my own garden, as well as in the gardens of a few dozen clients. When a friend and fellow horticulturist started suffering the ill effects of acute pesticide poisoning, I decided to stop spraying synthetics and go organic. Yes, I still used organic pest control products, like horticultural oil and insecticidal soap, for several years after that, but then I stopped using those products, too....

The best time to harvest chives Before we get to the information on how to harvest chives, it’s important to understand when to harvest chives. Harvesting at the wrong time will not result in plant death. It could however limit future growth and reduce the amount of leaves you’re able to harvest. Thankfully, chives have a long harvest period. Their tiny green spikes pop out of the soil in early spring....

Raspberry bushes are pretty hardy plants. They seem to grow along a lot of the trails where I ride my bike, so often it’s my arms and legs that find their prickly branches first. In the wild, with no one to keep these self-propagating plants in check, they’ll just keep on growing! It’s important to note there are different raspberry varieties. Black and purple raspberries are transplanted by a process called tip layering....

Planning a cut flower garden If you’re new to gardening, start with the right spot. Flowers need plenty of sun and rich, well-drained soil. Prep the site before planting by loosening the soil and digging in some compost and a slow-release flower fertilizer. Raised beds are a popular choice for gardeners who want a tidy garden that is easy to care for. No space for a cut flower garden? No worries!...

Why is proper hydrangea fall care important Whether you’re growing mophead or bigleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla), smooth hydrangeas (Hydrangea arborescens), panicle hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata), or any other type, understanding how to care for these flowering shrubs in the fall and winter is crucial. If you prune them incorrectly or neglect to properly protect them from the elements, your hydrangea-growing efforts could be a failure. Essentially, there are 7 practices to consider when it comes to hydrangea fall care....

What are lima beans? Lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus) are a heat-loving vegetable grown between the frost dates of spring and autumn. This crop does best in a temperature range of 70 to 80 F (21 to 27 C) and won’t yield well in regions with cool summers. They’re an easy to grow crop, similar to snap beans, but unlike snap beans it’s not the pods of lima beans which are eaten, but the interior seeds....

Goutweed was originally introduced to North America as an easy care groundcover, thriving in shade, partial shade, and full sun. It will also grow in a range of soils, but spreads quickest in cultivated garden soil. In terms of survival skills, goutweed is the cockroach of the botanical world. It produces a web of underground rhizomes from which each leafstalk emerges. The leaves are comprised of three groups of three leaflets and can be green or variegated....

The 7 Best Herbs for Container Gardening: Growing herbs in containers is a great way for beginners to learn how to grow some of their favorite kitchen herbs. If you’ve been dreaming of having your own herb garden on your patio or balcony, get ready to learn how to make that dream a reality! It’s true that many herbs like dill, chives, and cilantro can be grown in pots, but the 7 herbs below make fantastic low-care potted plants....

Vegetable gardening for fall: 1 – Gather your materials: As summer shifts to fall, my thoughts turn to straw bales. Why? Because I use these simple materials to insulate my root crops for winter harvesting. Once the hard frosts threaten in late autumn, I add a 1 to 1 1/2 foot deep layer of shredded leaves or straw to my carrot, parsnip, and celeriac beds. This is topped with an old piece of row cover to hold the materials in place and we harvest all winter long....

Growing hot peppers Unlike sweet peppers, hot peppers can pack a pungent punch! Some are mildly spicy, others offer medium heat, and still others are super hot and need to be handled and eaten with care. The heat of a pepper is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHU), which assesses the amount of heat-producing compounds found in the pepper. When a pepper has less than 100 SHU’s, it’s considered a sweet pepper....

Types of loofah gourds There are two species of loofahs grown around the world: Luffa acutangula is known as the ridged or angled loofah and Luffa aegyptiaca, the smooth or common loofah. Ridged loofahs can grow up to 30 inches long, although in my zone 5 climate I’ve found 18 inches is more common. The fruits are slender with deep green skin and sharp ridges that run down their entire length....

Why is knowing when to harvest radish important? Unlike some other crops which can be harvested on a rolling basis as they ripen (green beans, peppers, and cucumbers, I’m talking about you!), radishes are a “once and done” crop. Each radish seed yields one radish root. If you miss the correct planting or harvesting time for radishes, your yield will be a whole lot of leaves and no delicious roots or over-ripe roots that are cracked, woody, and bitter....

I finally decided to add a hellebore to my garden in 2015. I thought the perfect person to consult for growing advice would be Gary Lewis, the owner of Phoenix Perennials, a nursery and mail-order company that ships 63 varieties of hellebores across Canada. Gary himself has 185 hellebores in his garden and says he’s still collecting. In fact, Gary is so passionate about the plant, he hosts an annual Hellebore Hurrah event....

Basically, that whole idea works even though you’re not dealing with plants, but rather branches and sticks and accessories. A “thriller” would be that main focal point: perhaps some berries, birch boughs, or a fun accessory. For example, I’ve used spray-painted silver stars made out of twigs and a mini birdhouse. Your “spillers” are those lovely pine, cedar, or spruce boughs that spill over the side of your container. “Fillers” can be anything from magnolia leaves to colourful sticks, like dogwood, as well as euonymus, pinecones, etc....

Related post: Tara’s tips on growing tomatoes in raised beds Niki’s 5 time-saving gardening tips: Garden in raised beds – There are so many benefits to raised beds; the soil warms up early in the spring, they provide excellent drainage, they allow you to garden in areas with bad or rocky soil, they’re convenient for use of season extenders like mini hoop tunnels, and you can plant intensively in them which means more food in less space....

Forcing branches is easy and you can do it with any early-spring deciduous bloomer, like dogwood, cherry and magnolia. Simply head outside with a pair of nice, sharp pruners and select your branches. Be sure not to take them all from one spot. You don’t want to remove all the lovely soon-to-be blooms from your shrub. Be selective—I like to snip branches that seem to be out of place, maybe they’re lower on the shrub and need to be pruned anyhow, or they’re a bit wonky and stick out in a weird way from the others....

To show you just how easy it is to grow berries in pots, we’ve teamed up with THE source for backyard container berry plants, Bushel and Berry™, to bring you all the know-how you’ll need. Why grow berries in containers? Berry plants are great candidates for container gardening, especially if you pay careful attention to which varieties you choose to grow. For gardeners with limited space or for apartment dwellers who grow on a balcony, porch, or patio, growing berries in containers affords a level of flexibility you won’t get when growing these plants in the ground....

Waiting for dill seeds to form Once your dill plants start to flower, they will attract a TON of beneficial insects to the garden. My plants are always abuzz with bees and other beneficial insects. Ladybugs, tachinid flies, green lacewings, and hoverflies, which help to control aphid populations, all love dill flowers. The flowers stick around for a while and take some time to mature, so you need to be patient while the seeds form....