When you are an experienced vegetable gardener, it makes sense to save the seeds from your own crops for future plantings and food. Seed saving can save you money, and it is a fun way to geek out, gardener style. Each plant can make more than 1,000 flowers, so for every carrot you let go … Read more
For continuous color in the landscape, few plants rival verbena. This low-maintenance annual or perennial needs little supplemental care, yet rewards with months of bloom. There are many happy colors of verbena flowers, such as red, pink, apricot, lavender, purple, blue, white, and bicolor. Plants that grow in mounds, trails, or straight up have clusters … Read more
Move over cute fleshy succulents, cactus popularity is on the rise. Today I’m sharing tips on repotting cactus indoors, planting cactus in pots, and related info good to know. I live in Tucson, Arizona where the landscape is dominated by cacti of all sizes. This post and video are about repotting and planting small cacti … Read more
Grow a lemon tree legacy , from seedling to fruitful bounty, with this essential life cycle guide. The first step in a lemon’s life cycle is germination, which is when the seed wakes up and starts to change into a sprout. This stage creates the base for the future lemon tree and needs just the … Read more
In the summer, its clear that we need to water our fruit trees. While we humans sweat in the heat, fruit trees lose water through their leaf pores, called stomata. Without extra water in hot, dry weather, trees become dehydrated, which is bad for their health and the quality of the harvest. But the real … Read more
Nothing beats the flavor of a sun-ripened tomato freshly picked from the vine. If you want to skip the grocery store and get your hands on juicy, vine-ripened tomatoes, head to a pick-your-own (U-pick) tomato farm. At U-pick tomato farms, you can wander through rows plucking ripe red tomatoes right off the vine. The ripe … Read more
There are rabbit tracks in my six-fence rose garden, and the only roses that are still alive are about 18 inches tall. With their beautiful blooms and fragrant scent, rose bushes are a favorite plant for many gardeners. But these prized shrubs often end up on the menu for rabbits too. So do rabbits eat … Read more
There are many species and named cultivars of potentillas that are popular in UK gardens. They can be shrubs or herbaceous perennials. Characteristics and care requirements differ depending on which of these two groups we are referring to. Perennial potentillas look nice in a cottage garden, but shrubby potentillas are pretty and can be used … Read more
As a sunflower enthusiast I know how exciting it is to see those first seedlings sprout up from the soil. A few weeks later your seedlings are all crammed together, leaves overlapping, stretching for sunlight. Now it’s time to thin them out for optimal growth. Thinning sounds daunting but it’s an essential step for healthy … Read more
Polka dot plants, or Hypoestes phyllostachya, are popular houseplants because they are easy to care for and have pretty pink, red, or white leaves with spots on them. But if you don’t give these plants the right care and conditions, they tend to get weak, stretched out, and straggly. They are often grown outside as … Read more