I'm reporting on the results of last year's experiment, when I wintered over a bunch of plants from my summer containers, hoping I can grow them again next year, even bigger and better. Some died, some struggled, and some did pretty well. I don't have ideal conditions, but I won't know what works and what doesn't unless I try. Read along to find out how I'm storing over a dozen different plants.
Challenging myself to learn more about plants by trying new techniques and by researching and growing unfamiliar plants helps me grow as a gardener--and as a person. It's all about being a hardy soul and not letting winter get the best of me. Read what I've been up to the last month and let me know in the comments: What cabin-fever-fighting tricks do you have in your arsenal?
It's an experiment: I'm wintering over a bunch of plants from my summer containers, hoping I can grow them again next year, even bigger and better. I know I don't have ideal conditions, but I won't know what works and what doesn't unless I try. Read along to find out how I'm storing over a dozen different plants.
Visitors asked about two plants at my Colchicum Open Garden. The first one is readily available at garden centers or online. The second one is a little trickier to find--it helps if you know someone. But visitors were also surprised to see so much in bloom at the end of September. It helps if you know my special plants and (not so) secret techniques. Click over to my blog post and I'll share them with you!
We had our first frost on Monday, 26F (~-3C). And another frost this morning, 27F (also ~-3C). We often seem to skip the light frosts altogether and go straight for the hard stuff. Buh-bye, dahlias, cannas, and cosmos. But there are plenty of plants still blooming. And let's not forget colchicums. I was recently called [...]
Life as we know it doesn't end with the first frost. Beauty doesn't stop, either. We have had several light frosts (28.5F/-1.9C was the coldest) but no hard freezes, which means many garden plants are still going strong. (Do you know the difference between a frost and a freeze?) I was able to gather several [...]
One of the lovely things about gardening is that no matter how long (or short) you've been doing it, there's always so much more to learn and discover. Lately, I have been discovering "cottage gardening"--that serendipitous combination of flowers and vegetables and herbs, with the flowers being largely traditional and very fragrant. Last year was [...]
Long time readers may remember Craig Levy, who wrote for this blog for a number of months, and then went on to other things. This spring he emailed me, asking, "Would you like more plants for your garden?" Knowing that Craig used to run a nursery when he and his wife lived on the western [...]
I don't travel much. As a matter of fact, all the flying I've done in my adult life has been because of blogging, and all my flights have been to much warmer climates than my own. Every time I've left my home turf, I've found the experience a little unreal. Unmoored from my usual routine, [...]
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