If you grow dahlias (and I recommend you do, if you have a sunny spot available), the best way to keep them blooming is to continually cut the flowers.   Either pick them for cut flower arrangements, or leave them on the plant to enjoy in the garden but then remove the flowers as soon…

The one real blessing of the last year was being home enough to spend at least a little bit of time in my garden every day during the growing season. I loved being in the garden and the garden grew better because I was out there, seeing what was going on, and intervening—with water, staking,…

About this time of year I start getting questions along the line of “My daffodils are finished blooming. Is it ok if I braid the leaves to make them look tidier while they die down?”     The short answer is no, not if you want them to bloom again next year.   Daffodils, need…

Everyone knows that plants need soil to survive and thrive, but I’ve recently realized that some people have questions about how far up the side of the pot that soil should go. The short answer to the question is that pots should have enough soil in them to support the plants growing in them, and…

With gardening, there is always more to learn. I’ve written previously about spring pruning roses, and I stand by the tips and techniques in that article for most roses.   But I’ve learned more about climbing roses and realize that I was cutting back most of them too harshly. They still grew well, but I…

That’s the question a new homeowner asked me last week. “I just bought a house and the yard is full of hostas. What do I do with them?”     Good question. And I think I had an answer that made her happy.   In the fall, most hosta leaves turn lovely shades of yellow…

I’ve written previously about how I created my little pond (aka my pond-in-a-bucket) out of a hard sided pond liner. Because it’s made out of hard plastic I believe it could crack over the winter if I were to leave it full of water that would then freeze.     So in late fall every…

While I was driving to work this morning I noticed that someone had wrapped all of the young deciduous trees and small shrubs in their yard with burlap, to protect them from the coming winter winds. In general, I’m not a fan of shrouding plants in burlap after their first winter (that first year they’re…

I understand the temptation to just stash your tools away, mud and all, after a hard day’s work of gardening. Why bother to clean them off if they’re just going to get dirty again? I’ve felt this way too, but if you want your tools to last, you need to keep them clean. And once…

Hostas are problem solver plants–they tolerate a lot of shade so perform well in areas where other plants often don’t, they emerge from the earth in spring with big leaves that can hide the dying foliage from spring blooming bulbs, and they are so cold tolerant that they survive over the winter in pots in…

The scene repeats itself again and again, in gardens around the world, every year. The story goes like this; you’ve purchased your seedlings and you’re ready to plant them in the garden.     You pop one out of the cell pack and…   …discover that its roots are wound around and around the little…

If I lived on a larger property, I’d have a proper compost pile, or rather piles. Compost needs to be turned (stirred) periodically, and the way to do that with a mass of it, is to shovel it from one bin to another. My parents have a large lot in a semi-rural area, and my…

First off, why would you need to change the blade on your secateurs? And the answer is if the blade has been damaged to the point that just sharpening it or cleaning it won’t solve the problem. If you do those two things regularly, and only use your secateurs to cut the things they were…

I’ve written several posts about secateurs (sometimes called pruners, even though technically a pruner is a person who is pruning–the tool used to prune is often a pair of secateurs), how to choose a good pair, how to sharpen them, and today, how to clean them. I talk about them so much because I use…

I have lots of cedars and a pretty small plot of land, so I’ve had to learn how to prune them. I have so many because they stay green all year, they’re easy to care for, and they create much-needed privacy in my urban garden. I believe all of my cedars are Emerald Cedars (Thuja…

Raking leaves is as much a part of our collective idea of “fall” as drinking hot chocolate is part of our idea of what’s supposed to happen in winter. Stories have been popping up in my social media feeds proclaiming that experts say you no longer need to rake the leaves off your lawn! Is…

I like to move and/or divide most perennial plants in early spring, as close to when they emerge from the ground as possible, as I find I get the highest success rate. Fall is the second best time to plant or divide most perennials. But peonies are different—they are best divided or moved in the…

Succulent plants, especially members of the echeveria family, have become hugely popular the last few years, as well they should. They grow with next to no water, and can be manipulated in all sorts of ways, and even grown vertically, in growing medium and mesh, so that they be can hung like a wreath.  …

I’ve been checking the weather forecast several times a day lately as I’m on the lookout for frost. I have my old sheets and burlap ready to cover some plants if frost is threatened, but I know this is only a temporary measure to postpone the inevitable.   This weekend I started taking apart some…

I love the look of ornamental grasses, especially in late summer and into fall when the plumes develop. When the sun hits them the right way they’re glorious! However, most ornamental grasses with lovely plumes are quite large. My garden is small. This means that the Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ growing in my front yard…

Tulips are the tempermental stars of the spring garden. They put on a gorgeous show but then, if you don’t treat them just right, they disappear and you’ll never see them again. Treat them right and they’ll probably, but not always, bloom again next year. And maybe for years to come. I’ve had some tulips…

Whether you’ve just moved into a new garden where everything’s a mystery, or see something unfamiliar sprouting in a garden you’ve had for years, a good way to figure out its name is by taking a photo and sharing it with knowledgeable friends and acquaintances. However, your success at this depends not just on your…

It is infinitely more enjoyable, and better for your plants, to use sharp secateurs than dull ones. I’ve written elsewhere about how to choose a good pair of secateurs. In this post I’m going to show you how to keep your secateurs sharp so that you can enjoy pruning.   I have a pretty big…

Has a gardening friend or nursery salesperson ever asked you if you “know your zone?” It’s not a pick-up line (well, it’s usually not a pick-up line. I suppose someone might try…) or a way to ask your astrological sign. They’re trying to talk about your growing zone. “Growing zone” is gardener shorthand for what…

I wrote previously about how to dig up tender tubers–the roots of dahlias, cannas, and begonias–to store them over the winter. I know that a picture tells a thousand words but moving pictures with talking are even better, so I’ve done a short video to walk you step-by-step through the process of packing up your…