To raise lavender in one’s own garden and use the crushed flowers and leaves as a sachet is to touch hands momentarily with the lady of the 17th-century manor. She and her maid grew it in the stillroom garden, where it was especially favored for preparing sweet washing water and other “conceits” employed by the … Read more
Why not emulate the ancient custom of making a hedge of grape vines? To do this, you allow your young vine to develop only one single rod, which you train horizontally along a wire or bamboo canes, nailed to pegs driven into the soil. When this rod has reached a length of 13’ feet, you … Read more
There is still time to sow seeds of many perennials to provide plants for next year’s garden. If you have a cold frame, you will have space after annuals and tender plants are set out in your garden. You may sow seeds directly in the frame bed or flats, given cold frame protection. Making A … Read more
What is a good lawn and garden fertilizer? There have been many answers over the years, but from the frequency of weed-choked lawns, dead trees and shrubs, disease, and insect problems, not all have proved completely satisfactory. The 10-5-5 Formula Recently, scientists have come up with a new answer, and so far, it is the … Read more
Thick layers of mulching materials lessen the need for weeding and cultivating, conserve moisture (reducing the need for watering), and gradually build up soil fertility. And they effectively lower the soil temperature, as the photographs on the left show, helping promote plant growth during hot weather. We, gardeners, should mulch whenever and wherever we can. … Read more
Three years ago, the possibility of growing anything in a bed of cinders would have needed more interest for Bill Robinson. Then, he was a get-down-on-the-knees type of gardener who liked the feel of rich soil under his hands. He battled bugs and weeds in his small garden and could point with pride to a … Read more
Who says every garden bed must be edged with military rows of prim, plump marigolds or ageratum? There are several uncommon but equally decorative edging plants and dozens of vegetables and fruits that look good enough to eat—and are. Are petunias too flamboyant and sprawly for your small, full-flowering bed? Try some of the ornamental … Read more
It doesn’t take much space to raise an abundance of mulch. Then, as the various garden crops are harvested, just plant the idle ground in a mulch crop, even late in summer. Several crops make good mulch material. Some of them also produce seeds for birds. Multi-Purpose Crop Buckwheat Buckwheat, for instance, might be called … Read more
Over several years, we have watched the ebb and flow of the flower box tide in this flower box city. We have some suggestions for what we have found, partly by trial and error, to be the most successful plants and methods. The Exposure The direction a flower box faces, or exposure, has a lot … Read more
Do spring’s incessant showers bewitch you into thinking that midsummer will be just as kind to your garden? For most climates, drought in varying degrees of severity is a certainty for the months of July and August. By using today’s innovations for applying water to plants, you can guarantee that your garden will never know … Read more