roses

The weather has been glorious. Perfectly blue skies providing a backdrop as the leaves change to their brilliant autumnal colors. It makes my heart sing--and mourn.Not because winter is coming, per se. I live in a cold climate; winter is supposed to come.But not before I get through my gardening list! Yes, by the time [...]

Many gardeners don't cut flowers from their own gardens. I know some feel it will ruin the look or design of their garden to have pieces missing from it, but I think a lot of gardeners just haven't given themselves permission. Or, like me, after they cut the stems they wonder, "Now what?" I have [...]

A lot of my plants have yellow leaves that aren't supposed to. It's been raining frequently--often heavy downpours--and when it hasn't been raining it's been quite humid. So both the air and the soil are saturated--a recipe for plant disease if the plants aren't adapted to those conditions. Here's what I've been seeing: Can This [...]

June has been rainy and on the cool side this year. I think that has contributed to a paucity of blooms. Or, it could be that the gardens at the new house are just a bit behind the gardens at our former house. Or maybe both. By mid-June, I am accustomed to seeing peonies, poppies, [...]

Just as we did in October 2010, we skipped the early frosts of September and went straight to a hard freeze: 22F on October 13th. With a cold snap like that, you might think everything would be flattened. But you would be wrong. Gotta Love That Rose! First a tip of the hat to Rosa [...]

I confess I haven't been reading much fiction lately, but when I was asked to review The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns I agreed for two reasons. One, there are precious few novels where a gardener is the protagonist and gardening is an integral element of the plot and theme. Two, I was [...]

Perhaps it was the hot, dry spell we had, but there didn't seem to be too much blooming the past month. Much of what is blooming is woody. Once again, identification help is welcome, as most of these were already here when I moved in. This shrub is in the bed that borders the parking [...]

Things are finally blooming in the garden at the new house, only I don't know what they are. Well, for the most part, I know what genus they are, but not the variety. So I'd like to show you some of what I've got, and maybe you can tell me more about them. Peonies There [...]

Last October, when I planted some grafted roses, I explained how the graft needed to be four inches below soil level. And I pointed out how, with the roots extending a foot or more beyond the bud union, I wound up digging some pretty deep holes. Never again! Yesterday I heard Lee Ginenthal, who owns [...]