Kathy Purdy

It seems the snow will never stop. We haven't had the huge accumulations that parts of New England have seen, just another couple of inches one day, another couple of inches a few days after that. After a while it does amount to a whole bunch. The sun has been shining more (when it's not [...]

What do cold climate gardeners do in the winter, after they have wrung every drop of enjoyment out of their now-bedraggled seed catalogs? Why, they read gardening books, of course. To help my readers in this endeavor, I have assembled all the books that I have either read or are in my possession that relate [...]

We've had plenty of cold (subzero Fahrenheit temps at night) and plenty of snow (pushing 18 inches at this point), and the only thing growing here is icicles. They grow when the sun shines, especially if we manage to hover around the freezing point, our new definition of a heat wave. And the sun hasn't [...]

Hello, dear readers, I have two brief announcements to share with you. This Monday, January 26, 2015, at 3pm, I'll be speaking with Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg on the latest segment of their We Dig Plants! podcast. Update: The podcast has been rescheduled for March 2nd. It will stream live at 3 pm [...]

It's January, and cold climate gardeners everywhere are finding their hardy souls tested. Winter is tough on the body and on the spirit, and indoor plants are one of the many ways we keep cabin fever at bay. Plants, especially flowering plants, are not an indulgence. They are mental health medicine. The contents of my [...]

I had heard a lot about the AeroGarden, so when I was offered an opportunity to review one, I gladly accepted. The AeroGarden, for those of you not already familiar with it, is an automated hydroponic growing system meant for people who have never gardened before. I thought it would be a great way to [...]

Thirty-seven days after I planted it, the 'White Nymph' amaryllis from Longfield Gardens is blooming. I was surprised to see how fast it grew. I like the pink flush on the tips of the petals, but I don't know as I'd call this a double flower. Semi-double would be more like it. At any rate, [...]

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that everyone who loves gardening wants everyone they love to love gardening. It may not be your best friend who you want to convert--uh, get hooked--that is, become interested in gardening. Perhaps it is your grown children, or the young couple who moved in down the street and keeps [...]

While we're on the subject of gifts--you may remember that I visited P. Allen's Moss Mountain Farm back in May. One of the things I shared with you was this quirky bud vase pictured above, currently displaying autumn-blooming Crocus speciosus. Well, you don't have to visit Moss Mountain Farm to shop at the gift shop [...]