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Kathy Purdy

Kathy Purdy discovered the joys of writing in fourth grade, when she started corresponding with a former classmate. She's been writing letters ever since, first on looseleaf, then electronically, and now as weblog entries. That makes you, the blog reader, her pen pal. Her first independent (though frustrating) attempts at gardening were made in high school, though the gardening bug didn't bite hard until her mid-thirties, when she found herself mistress of a rural home on 15 acres. • USDA Hardiness Zone:4 • AHS Heat Zone: 3 • Location: rural; Southern Tier of NY • Geographic type: foothills of Appalachian Mountains • Soil Type: acid clay • Experience level: intermediate • Particular interests: colchicums, narcissus, cottage gardening, NY native plants, gardening with/for children

Choose locations to plant fall bulbs now

March 10, 2010

In January, the snowdrops in the Secret Garden looked like this:
This Sunday just passed–March 7th–those same snowdrops looked like this:
Such are the vagaries of an upstate New York winter. Since then, the temperatures have been mild and the sunshine brilliant, and the snow is receding. This, my fellow cold climate gardeners, is the best time [...]

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Forced Bulbs: Garden Bloggers Bloom Day February 2010

February 15, 2010

The bulbs that I am forcing have started to bloom. I put one hyacinth in a forcing glass into the basement on November 29th. I potted the rest up on December 5th. I brought them all up when I saw green tips emerging from the bulbs. I now realize this was too early. According to [...]

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Cut Flowers Are a Frugal Luxury

February 14, 2010

I had long considered flowers from a florist to be a frivolous expense. You couldn’t plant them, and had nothing to show for it when they finally shriveled up and died. Spend the same amount on groceries, and at least you’ve fed your family, even if it still seems like you’ve got nothing to show [...]

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Black Plants: Book Review

February 9, 2010

Black Plants: 75 Striking Choices for the Garden by Paul Bonine is the kind of book that drives me wild. Seventy-five gorgeous plants and over half of them are not hardy for me. Wait. Maybe it’s just that half of the ones I want to grow aren’t hardy for me. I actually didn’t go through [...]

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January Thaw Discoveries: Plants

February 7, 2010

The January thaw of last week provided me with an opportunity to “check under the hood”–or, in this case, under the snow cover. It’s always thought provoking, prompting me to think about how different plants respond to this cold season. This snapdragon looked perkier the last time I saw it. I don’t think it [...]

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January Thaw: A Video

January 25, 2010

What happens when the snow melts in the middle of winter? I made a brief video to show you:

Some roads and a few low bridges have flooded, forcing early school closings and rerouting traffic.
A thaw in January is common, but rain doesn’t always accompany it. Sometimes it is brilliantly sunny, inspiring snowball fights in shirt [...]

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Seventh Annual Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium

January 22, 2010

Kerry Mendez just emailed me about the Great Gardens and Landscaping Symposium: “Six dynamic garden lectures by nationally recognized speakers, great handouts, food, door prizes, and garden gifts. The event takes place at The Equinox Resort in Manchester, VT. Overnight packages and day only rates available. Speakers include garden designer Julie Moir [...]

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How Do You Know If A Plant Is Hardy?

January 21, 2010

I was just reading Graham Rice’s musings on plants that grow in the coldest climates. He observed that the resources he consulted did not agree on which plants were tough enough to take USDA zone 2. If you’ve been gardening for any length of time (which of course Graham has), this won’t surprise you.
First, [...]

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day January 2010

January 15, 2010

There’s Nothing Blooming Outside
The plants I saw two and a half weeks ago are buried under snow.
No Houseplants Are Blooming
The Christmas cactus that provided a bloom this time last year dropped its one and only blossom a couple of days ago.
My Forced Bulbs Aren’t Ready Yet–Neither Hyacinths
My forced hyacinth is just barely getting started:

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Seeds for Cold Climates

January 14, 2010

Seeds of vegetables grown in cold climates need to have a short length to maturity and an ability to tolerate cooler than typical temperatures–day and night. You can look in any general seed catalog for terms like “short growing season,” “early-bearing,” “tolerates cool evenings,” or even the magic words, “especially bred for northern growers.”
It’s even [...]

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Botanical Interests Seed Collection Giveaway

January 12, 2010

Botanical Interests was a new seed company for me when I hosted a giveaway of their seeds last year. Since then I’ve had a chance to grow their seeds. My favorite has got to be the Lauren’s Grape poppy. It is gorgeous paired up with ‘Dark Towers’ penstemon.
Over 300 Kinds of Seeds
But Botanical Interests sells [...]

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Why Is This Winter So Cold?

January 10, 2010

Yesterday, the low here was 8F (-13C). That’s not too surprising. But Dee Nash of Red Dirt Ramblings told me her low that same day was 5F (-15C) in Oklahoma. Whoa! What’s going on here? Check out Eric Berger’s explanation in the Houston Chronicle. It turns out a lot of factors have contributed to the [...]

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Buffa10: Garden Bloggers Meet-Up

January 7, 2010

For the third year in a row, garden bloggers from all over the country are gathering to meet face-to-face, this time in Buffalo, NY. Buffa10 officially begins Thursday night, July 8th and extends to Saturday, July 10th. Elizabeth Licata and Jim Charlier are the masterminds behind this garden lover’s extravaganza. Check out the blog they’ve [...]

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