Like many others, I plant moonflower (Ipomoea alba) in the early summer to fill a small trellis with a quickly growing annual vine. I anticipate the...
Wonderful Sambucus aka Elderberry
Imagine: This week's story is true. Yesterday I went up to the large elderberry bush at the top of our cutting garden. This year's berry production...
My Open Gardens & The Hydrangea Festival
Updated 7/13/17 The Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival has three more days to go. This event is ten days when we celebrate lovely gardens, hydrangeas, and...
In My Gardens ~ Week of June 5
It was a cool and damp month of May at Poison Ivy Acres and the first four days of June continued in the same mode. This is fine with me, because...
I Hate Rhododendron ‘Blue Baron’
Imagine: Yes indeed. Imagine a plant that looks fantastic in the garden center when it's fresh from the grower. But that plant is out for just one...
What is Wrong With My Hydrangea Leaves?
This is the question I asked myself for three years. The first year I noticed the brown-gray "knitted" look on my leaves I thought it was wind...
Soil Amendment From The Top Down
People often ask about fertilizing in the spring, but many ignore how Nature fertilizes and amends soil. There is no little Fertilizer Fairy...
Hellebore House
People who live in neighborhoods with sidewalks are so lucky. It's easy to walk past area yards and gardens, and appreciate plantings that might...
Spring Equinox
Today is the first day of spring. In some parts of the world spring weather has come and gone. In others it is in full bloom, while in the more...
GWA – A Crowdsourced Poem
I belong to GWA: The Association For Garden Communicators. It is the group for those who write, speak, teach, blog, photograph or otherwise...
How to Stake A Flopping Peony – Attractively!
Faced with a peony with heavy flowers falling into the dirt, must gardeners stick a heavy stake in the back and wrap a cord around the circumference...
Saving Something Small
When I saw a hummingbird in my Massachusetts garden shortly before Thanksgiving, I did what many 21st Century gardeners would do: I posted a photo...
Planning A Cutting Garden
You want to be able to cut a few flowers and stick them in a row of bottles above your kitchen sink. Perhaps you want to snip some colorful blooms...
Flowers in February
If you like picking small bouquets for the house, you don't have to give up this practice just because it's the middle of winter. In many parts of...
Planters With A Fun Factor
When we cleaned out my mother-in-law's house a few years ago some of the things we found were planters from the early 1960's. "I used to buy these...
Over-Wintering Plants In The Garage
At this time of year my garage is packed to the rafters. Sure, I have the usual assortment of snow shovels, ladders, fertilizers and other garden...
Holiday Greens From The Backyard
If you have diverse plantings in your landscape it's likely that you have all the greens you need for creating lovely, fresh holiday decorations....
Plant Geeks R Us
Do you love plants? Is there something about gardens that continues to draw you in no matter what? Join the tribe. Plant Geeks R Us. Some are...