Top Gardening Blogs
Share the Top Gardening Blogs on
All the Dirt on Gardening
Daffodils are about the best thing that these chilly spring days have to offer. They are critter proof and multiply from year to year. And, that divine scent. What's not to like?Midwest Living magazine ran a story called the "10 Top Daffodils for the Midwest".For thorough information on Narcissus or...
Japanese Beetles beat by pelargonium flowers, Fungus beat by compost beneficial fungus Trichoderma
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that you can beat the beetle blues with pelargonium type geraniums.Yes, those fabulous, though a little smelly, geraniums we associate with window boxes in Germany.Geranium Photo from Maureen Gilmer's MoPlants article excerpts - Japanese beetles cost us $450 million a year.- Within 30...
Another New Coneflower - hot pink
Do you think you want this new Echinacea in your garden? It is an AAS winner for 2010 called Echinacea purpurea PowWow Wild Berry.Hot pink cone flowers - shriek with joy or in horror?For a direct link to coneflower/Echinaceae seed starting tips from Harris Seed click here. Basically - 70...
It's March - the Daffodils are Calling Us Outside to Play in the Dirt
Lisa Merrell - the tomato man's daughter - is starting tens of thousands of tomato seeds in her kitchen for spring sales. Her curious cat is checking her methods.The daffodils are blooming, encouraging us to be outside with our hands in the dirt. The area’s last average date for frost...
A Flickr photo album of Aroids from Sin Yeng and Peter Boyce is now online.Their incredible images are here....
Bee Talk from Evolutionary Biologist Olivia Judson in the NYT Opinionator Blog
Normally, I would just provide a link to a column online but the NYT Opinionator links have been behaving unpredictably and you will want to read this one.Here is the link - the footnotes are worth reading if you can get there from here."Breezy Love, or the Sacking of the...
Plant Talk
Cuba and The New York Botanical Garden
A Century of Plant Exploration and Research Brian M. Boom, Ph.D., is Director, Caribbean Biodiversity Program, and Melissa Tulig, is Associate Director of the Herbarium at The New York Botanical Garden. The Orchid Show: Cuba in Flower in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory provides an excellent occasion to draw attention to the...
Free Open House and Career Information Session Saturday
Grow at the Garden Through Adult Education Courses Pursue your passion for plants and gardening or get started on a new career this spring. Come to Saturday’s Open House to discover how you can grow at the Garden through Adult Education courses.Meet program coordinators, instructors, and graduates; tour the facilities; and...
The Orchid Show Spotlight: Sugar Mill Ruin
Jessica Blohm is Interpretive Specialist for Public Education. Christopher Columbus first landed in Cuba in 1492, leading the way to the country’s being settled in 1511 by the Spanish, who quickly discovered how well suited the land was for growing sugarcane. The plant, which is from the South Pacific island of...
Tip of the Week: Repotting Orchids—Making a Mix
Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. For hands-on demonstrations and orchid tips, join her in the Conservatory’s GreenSchool every Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. throughout The Orchid Show. A few weeks ago, I spent a quiet afternoon at the Nolen Greenhouses with my colleague Fintan O’Sullivan repotting orchids. We...
Orchid Show’s Cuban-born Designer Recalls Native Influences
Jorge Sánchez, president and co-founder of the landscape architecture firm Sánchez & Maddux in Palm Beach, Florida, designed this year’s Orchid Show. For Sánchez & Maddux to be awarded the opportunity to design The Orchid Show: Cuba in Flower was, indeed, a feather in our cap. The fact that the show...
Spring Fever: Catch It Saturday!
Prepare for Gardening Season with this Special All-Day Program Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden. It may not feel like it, but spring begins this month. Gardeners—me included—are chomping at the bit for it to get under way and for that telltale whiff in the...
Our Twenty Minute Kitchen Garden
Fish on Friday: Saint Sebastian, Dearborn Heights, MI
"Wholesome" is the word I'd use if I had to sum up the Lenten Fish Fry at St. Sebastian's in Dearborn, MI. Related posts:Fish on Friday: Saint Albert the Great, Dearborn Heights, MI Fish on Friday: The Knights of Columbus, Dexter, MI Indoor Gardening: Bean Sprouts ...
Sweetwaters & Coffee Grounds for Garden Goodness
...Coffee grounds and paper filters break down pretty fast and are excellent additions to our compost piles... Related posts:How To Compost: Start Today! What NOT to Compost Compost Pride ...
...Still surprising-- to me anyway-- was that it took more than one class session to work the clay into the desired form and smoothness... Related posts:Indoor Gardening: Bean Sprouts ...
...I smelled like wood smoke well into Tuesday... Related posts:Brew Day – A Few More Specifics Red Hot Fire Poker Thankful Days ...
...We are used to labels or signs that tell us our purchases have traveled greater distances than most of us will in our lifetimes... Related posts:Frost Bites Sweetwaters & Coffee Grounds for Garden Goodness Delicious Desktop ...
...Our Egg Foo Young starts with a jar full of homegrown mung bean sprouts... Related posts:Indoor Gardening: Bean Sprouts Recipe: Jalapeno Potato Soup: What to do with Jalapenos #1 How to Make a Solar Lunch ...
The Occasional Gardener
These crocus were a lovely sight, a little patch that had spilled over beyond someone's garden in Mamaroneck. There were more in the garden under the trees albeit not quite as spectacular as the ones I saw in Brooklyn a couple of years ago. Nevertheless it was still uplifting...
Up in Mamaroneck, two things stir the gardening impulse. Bright green chive shoots emerge in the vegetable garden to kick the year off. Later in the year they will drive me crazy keeping them in check, but right now they remind me of how dependable a tenant they are here....
The tediousness of the left brain chores I am currently mired in, has my right brain parched. Circumstances don't help either- trapped in a seemingly unending winter, there's little outside that inspires - it's just grimy snow and salt frosted sidewalks. Last night I dug out some old footage...
Not the garden variety. I have a pair of abstract encaustic paintings titled Seed that I've appropriately decided to seed my new Etsy shop with. It will be a place for me to sell artwork and perhaps some things for the home, some vintage things - all with a nature...
While NYC dips into temperatures below freezing again, I continue to work on designs for Summer 2011 and thought I would share an interesting trend prediction from Li Edelkoort's recent presentation - water. Not just aesthetically as in color palettes drawn from rivers, reefs, pools, oceans, mermaids and the like...
I just got round to noting Pantone's color of the year for 2010 - Turquoise 15-5519. My first garden related thought about the color was- Kyles' pot. Kyle, an artist friend living in Rhode Island that I visited while on vacation this year had the most beautiful collection of ceramic...
New York City Garden
image courtesy wunderground.comI just returned from my trip to the corner take out. A tree limb, large enough to damage two cars has fallen on J&L nursery and my landlord's fence. Two cars beneath. I left the Brooklyn Botanic Garden today, not expecting the wind to pick up quite so...
Oregano made it. No problem for the chives.The sage made it too, but rather unphotogenically. Rosemary and thyme?...
These are the Crocus tommasinianus I posted about the other day. More have come up since then, and they look better in numbers. They are very delicate, with short leaves.The purple is more blue than red, and certainly not as pale as those in the photo at Scheepers. But, I...
The best and worst thing about crocus is their ephemeral nature. But I don't mind their two week performance, or even their quick-wilt on those too-warm days. It's the corms! Because they are small and close to the surface, the squirrels get to them and with every plant I move...
Don't Throw The Babies Out With The...
Many friends say to me that they do not get praying mantis year to year. I have had a reliable pair every year and while I was cleaning out the garden it occurred to me the possible reason why.While I was snipping old perennial branches and disposing of them in...
I won't hesitate to admit that an art project in the form of a garden can seem, um, just like a garden. Where is the art in a garden? One judging these things must be open to the possibility that it is there, in the details, in the...
Sustainable and Urban Gardening
Our video’s up! “A Civic Center Comes to Silver Spring”
Here’s the class of six, plus teachers Adele Schmidt on the far left and Sam Hampton on the far right. My co-director, the talented Mario Starks, is second from left. The students are a United Nations of aspiring filmmakers, and a wonderful bunch who produced some great 3-4-minute...
Gardening this week: Filling up new borders
What do you do when you have large new borders to fill and would rather not A, spend much money or B, wait forever for them to look good? Steal like crazy from other parts of the garden – if you’re lucky to have an old garden that has plenty...
How a Boomer Gardener (tries to) Stay Fit all Winter
Feeling a bit sluggish about now, deprived of gardening for all these months? Me, too! But not as sluggish as I’d be feeling if I didn’t have THE PROGRAM. That’s what I call my ever-increasing compilation of exercises that a bevy of physical therapists has devised for me over the...
Read all about my lawn replacement in Fine Gardening Magazine
Jeez, I just noticed it’s been over a week since I’ve posted here – bad blogger! Well, my article in Fine Gardening finally arrived, so here’s a teaser photo. In the article, I cover a bunch of options for replacing turfgrass with similar-but-easier short groundcovers. Like? Thyme, mazus, creeping Jenny (where...
Hey, Universal Studio, time to nix your “all-you-can-eat” deal
Waaay back in June of '09 I had a whole day to kill in Los Angeles, with no family-wedding happenings til dinnertime. I'd already spent a glorious free day with Shirley Bovshow in her garden and being escorted by her around the Huntington Garden. I just knew that come wintertime,...
Film Production Team Tackles New Urban Space
My adventures in video continue! After all my troubles buying the wrong stuff, it came time to learn to DO something. My first grown-up move was to admit that when it comes to either hardware OR software, I'm not what you would call an autodidact. So I ignored the advice...
Native Sons - Plant of the Week
Geranium sanguineum 'Vision Violet'
Cranesbill. A robust ground cover selection of the every popular Geranium sanguineum featuring masses of violet flowers from early spring to summer. The fresh green foliage with redden with autumn colors in cooler interior gardens. Growing up to 18 inches tall and 24 inches wide, it is useful as a......
Ken Hartman barberry has a billowing upright habit to 6 feet tall that slowly forms a dense drift with time. The bright green leaves have a polished surface with sharply toothed margins. New spring grow is richly colored copper, reddish, and bronze and provides a stunning contrast to the clusters......
Festuca californica 'Scott Mountain'
Scott Mountain California fescue form a rigid mound to about a foot tall with elegant upright flowers to 3 feet tall. The blue-green leaf blades are smaller and stiffer than is typical with the species making it useful in gardens with limited space. It is an excellent choice for mixed......
Westringia fruticosa 'Wynyabbie Gem'
Wynyabbie gem coast rosemary is a versatile evergreen shrub from Australia growing to 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide. Lavender-blue flowers are present most of the year in coastal California and make a pleasing contrast to the airy gray-green foliage. It can be used in sun or partial shade......
Small finger-like leaves form a tight mat to 2 inches tall with an 8 inch spread on this appealing South African ice plant. Luminous silver-pink flowers cover the plants in early spring followed by sporadic flowering through summer along the coast. It is a superb choice for containers, rock gardens......
Flannel bush. San Gabriel flannel bush is a robust evergreen shrub to 20 feet tall and 40 wide. Fast growing, it will tolerate extremely dry conditions and hotter interior garden sites. It features a copious display of 2-3 inch yellow flowers from early spring to summer and a distinctive herringbone......
The Manic Gardener - An Organic Gardening Blog
Awards, accolades, aclaim, etcetera
The Manic has come for more than its share of praise recently. Last November, distracted by surgery and by a family emergency, I entirely failed to mention (or even to notice, till someone pointed it out) that Horticulture Magazine had......
Discount offer (& book review) for Growing Stuff
Blogging, like beauty, is of course its own excuse for being. However, perks are always appreciated, and surely one of the best that comes with blogging is free books. Case in point: Asked if I would link to information about......
Origin and Evolution of “You go sleep in the garage.”
This title will at least ring bells if you've read either of my previous posts (Nov. '08, yesterday) about our friend Abdoulaye, just returned from Mali for a new stint of study at MSU. It was fairly early in Abdoulaye’s......
Return of the potato specialist: Abdoulaye of Mali
Clap your hands and cheer: Abdoulaye has returned! Yes, my favorite potato specialist from sub-Saharan Africa is back in town. I know I already posted one photo of him dancing with my mother-in-law, but it seems to me a topic......
I took this photograph yesterday morning, as the deer proceeded quietly along the sidewalk across the street from our house. (That's our car in the lower right, proof that this is not out in the wild woods.) The deer did......
A New Low: cold snap in Montana
http://www.findlocalweather.com/weather_maps/temperature_north_america.html When I got up Tuesday, the temperature in our back room, where we’ve been sleeping since my surgery, was 39ºF, or just under 4ºC. Upstairs in the bedroom we’re not using, I hit the “on” button of an electric......
CafeMom Daily Buzz: Home & Garden
Photo from Pete Dungey Pothole gardens! Now that's what the world needs.Found this lovely bit of inspiration from British artist Pete Dungey via Cup of Jo. Mr. Dungey plants small flower and plant gardens in potholes. How nice! I always enjoy projects that make an eyesore a thing of beauty....
Weeknight Speed Cleaning: 30 Minutes to a Cleaner Home
Save the mopping, vacuuming, or other deep cleaning for the weekend (or every third weekend if you're like me). It's time to do a weeknight speed clean. Here's how to make your home feel cleaner in just 30 minutes, which will open up more family time on the weekend.Make your home...
Coffee at Home on a Sunday: YESSSSS...
Hello Darkness, My Old Friend print by Standard Design Not sure how I ever had a to-go coffee addiction because now I love nothing more than a fresh cup of coffee at home. Especially on a Sunday!Hello darkness, my old friend, indeed! Hope you have a cup of something warm in your...
Happy Your Closet: Rainbow Order
Photo by Sheri Reed Now that I admitted to seeking natural highs from closet decluttering, I think it's okay to admit to color-coordinating my clothes in coordinance with the rainbow spectrum.It's true. The hanging clothes in my closet are organized from red to violet with black on one ened and gray,...
Snow Hurricane Survival: 10 Indoor Activities for a Happy Winter Home
Photo by Peajewel Snow hurricane!!! Is your outdoor world currently being buried by a giant white kerplunk of snow? Well, just because there's a near winter white snow blizzard outside doesn't mean it can't be sunny indoors.You can either worry and fret and sulk or tantrum about the snow catastrophe going on...
How to Get High Cleaning Your Closet
Photo by Sheri Reed Yep, high as a kite from decluttering my closet and nothing more. This is good stuff. It's all natural. C'mon and take a hit...I love to organize, sort, and purge my things. It makes me happy. I've known this since I was a girl — something about...
Homely Capers
After watching the tops go yellow for a week, today was the day to do the big harvest. Who would have thought that four months had passed since the build stage of the potato tower? Above you can see the yellowing stalks and leaves, a sure sign that things are coming...
In December I started two tomato plants growing as seeds in Jiffy pots. After having them crop prolifically for many months, they were left to the elements and mealy bugs. They haven’t had any water, love or attention since March, and now being the end of July there are two...
We are now half way into the dry season in the top end of Australia. Even though we have not seen a cloud for months, growth in the garden has slowed significantly due to the shorter days and lower sun intensity. The arrowroot received a severe pruning after the caterpillar...
We’ve all read the headlines, watched the business channel, listened to the radio reports for nearly twelve months and all we have heard is lines like “unprecedented downturn in the economy”, “economy set for biggest losses since great depression” Blah Blah Blah… For those of us who have not been made...
Since the birth of this blog there have been some mentions of my family, so here they all are (except my wife, she’s shy… that’s what she says anyway…) Maggie, or Margret when she’s in trouble, is a three year old cat. Not sure what kind of genetic line she comes...
What do you get when you cross a tank full of fish and a vegetable garden? You get a very productive food producing system called Aquaponics! Over the weekend I ducked down to my local nursery and ordered a Balcony Kit aquaponics setup. I wish I had the balcony to put it...
Gardening Tips 'n' Ideas
The Changing Garden: Practically Speaking
Here's what I did to change our garden this weekend....
The Changing Garden: Practically Speaking
Here's what I did to change our garden this weekend....
Growing a Beurre Bosc Pear Tree
Here's ahow to grow your own Bosc Pear tree....
Growing a Beurre Bosc Pear Tree
Here's ahow to grow your own Bosc Pear tree....
What is the Best Grass for Dogs?
Finding the best grass for dogs is quite simple - just look for something that grows quick and could easily survive a nuclear holocaust!...
What is the Best Grass for Dogs?
Finding the best grass for dogs is quite simple - just look for something that grows quick and could easily survive a nuclear holocaust!...
The Dirt
How Do You Know If Green Building Products Really Are Green?
How do you know whether a green building product really is green? How should this be measured – should carbon miles traveled be used, or levels of toxic compounds? How should green be defined — is it about green manufacturing processes, or GHG emissions? How do we avoid green washing? These questions were asked in the National Building...
Field Operations Will Design Santa Monica Town Square
James Corner and Field Operations won the design competition to design Santa Monica’s new Town Square and Palisades Garden Walk (see earlier post on the competition). According to The Architect’s Newspaper, the seven-acre park will connect the city’s Civic Center with the rest of Santa Monica. Barbara Stinchfield, Santa Monica’s Director of Community and Cultural Services said Field...
In an interview with Metropolis’ POV blog, Jan H. De Jager, a Dutch civil engineer and dike and dam expert, finds fault in New Orleans’ new coastal and storm management system and discusses how “soft coastal engineering” is more effective than vertical walls in combatting sea level rise. De Jager says the current reconstruction...
New International Criminal Court Headquarters: “An Abstract Sculpture in the Landscape”
Bustler writes that schmidt hammer lassen architects has won the international design competition for the new International Criminal Court (ICC) headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. Bjarne Hammer, creative director and co-founder of the winning firm, said: “The building is designed as an abstract and informal sculpture in the landscape. This way, it...
Interview with Franceso Bandarin, UNESCO World Heritage, on Cultural Landscapes
Francesco Bandarin is the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. A recent UNESCO report on cultural landscapes says, “As soon as a territory is seen as a landscape, it bears cultural values; but these values are not necessarily outstanding and universal. Those landscapes where the interaction between people and their...
Plan to “Respectfully Rehabilitate” National Mall Moves Forward
Last week, the National Capitol Planning Commission (NCPC) gave its preliminary consent for the National Park Service’s preferred alternative plan for the National Mall, a “comprehensive framework plan” that has undergone a rigorous process of public comment. According to the Park Service, the $700 million plan has received thousands of comments to...