Gardenig in state Connecticut. Tips & Guides

On my radio show and podcast, we talked about why having extra-early and extra-later bloomers—from spicebush to Clethra to goldenrods and more—mean important insects and even birds will choose not just to stop by your garden, but call it home and raise a family.Read along as you listen to the May 11, 2015 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).read/listen: choosing native plants,a q&a with broken arrow’s andy brandQ. I know that when the subject of native plants is raised, peopl

Andy is nursery manager of Broken Arrow in Hamden CT, a destination nursery with an extensive retail operation plus a giant mail-order catalog of unusual things. His 25-year-old personal Epimedium collection includes more than 150 kinds, with other shade treasures such as Solomon’s seal, or Polygonatum, and some lookalikes also on his radar.Broken Arrow, where he has worked for 25 years, is known for unusual things: “Especially if it’s variegated, dwarf, or has contorted branches, or there’s something that’s not quite looking right about the plant”–in the very best way, of course–Andy says you’ll find it there. Plants with an irresistible twist

There is also an Open Day in nearby Litchfield County, Connecticut that day and in Dutchess County, New York (the other adjacent area to me). Be sure to check for those listings, too, and make a day of it.Can’t make it? How about coming June 2, or August 18? (Or come back; always something different going on.) On the August date, Broken Arrow will be here again doing a sale in time for fall planting, and garden writer and old friend Ken Druse will deliver a morning lecture on plant combinations and do a smaller afternoon workshop on propagation.All the details on those other days, including links to follow for the Ken Druse events, are on my events page.  Ken’s talk and workshop require prior

Simply go to the iTunes store, search for “A Way to Garden With Margaret Roach” (no quote marks), and press the gray “subscribe now” button up top below the green logo with the–yup–squirrel on it. (Alternatively, you can use another RSS subscription method by starting on the podcast archive page on WHDD’s site.)Like I said, it’s free. But if you want to thank WHDD in nearby Sharon, Connecticut, for making this broadcast and podcast possible–since they are public radio, after all, and survive on listener support–you can also go bury a few nuts in their garden here. Interesting note: Besides the nutty (tee hee) logo and motto, they became the smallest and newest NPR affiliate in America when they got their license in 2008. Did I pick good or what? This week’s show, the first at the ex

CRAZY, BUT TRUE: I ALWAYS THOUGHT the quirky “voice” of the Fedco Seeds catalog, named C.R. Lawn—get it? Lawn?—was a fictitious character, the made-up but pervasive green spirit of the longtime seed cooperative’s brand. But he’s not make-believe. He’s the Maine-based Fedco’s founder, and an organic gardener, market grower and seedsman with more than 30 years’ experience, and he took the time to answer some of my questions on what to grow and how to grow it better. The result is a vegetable-gardening Q&A (from peas to potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, mineral dusts and more), with the very real C.R. Lawn—and the chance to win three $20 Fedco gift certificates I bought to share with you, and say thanks to him. Let’s jump right in:

MY LATEST WEEKLY SHOW with NPR affiliate Robin Hood Radio, WHDD in Sharon, Connecticut, tackles the topic of replanting your vegetable garden for a harvest well into the fall. Stream it, or subscribe free on iTunes.Soil Too Hot and Dry for Germination?SOME SEEDS WON’T GERMINATE in baking soil, so a day or two before I sow things in high summer, I moisten and shade the bed-to-be. Cultivate at least lightly to prepare the seedbed, then water well and erect knitted shade fabric on hoops (over the area, or just lay it on the ground).  With heat-sensitive crops like salad things and spinach, I leave the shade cloth up as the plants develop.But When Exactly to Sow What?IT DOESN’T ALL GO IN AT ONCE—each crop has its timing, thoug

Many visitors have asked me to take it to the next level. Now Broken Arrow Nursery—they always do plant sales at my big Open Days—and I are offering smaller, ticketed, workshop-style events and sales on September 17, lasting a half-day each, with lots of individual attention. Our spring version sold out fast; space is very limited. Ticket includes $25 Broken Arrow shopping credit at the plant sale.Tour with me, Margaret, focusing on how I made a garden for the birds (60-plus species visit yearly); my maybe-too-crazy obsession with gold foliage; my passion for great groundcovers; the pollinator- and bird-enhancing “meadow” I’ve cultivated by observing carefully and mowing differently; and most of all, my intimate relationship with the place that goes wa

IF YOU HAVEN’T even started bringing in your houseplants or are in a warmer zone, the first part of the discussion talked about taking stock of what needs storing and evaluating and prepping potential overwintering spaces at your home.  I recapped that quickly yesterday in Part 2, then got on to specifics how to store dahlias, cannas, elephant ears and more. You can always subscribe to the free podcast on iTunes. (Select the September 12 and October 17 shows from among the weekly programs I do with Robin Hood Radio, the nation’s smallest NPR affiliate, in nearby Sharon, Connecticut.)Part 1 (September 12 edition Part 2 (October 17 edition) Other Pushing-the-Zone ExperimentsREMEMBER, it’s always an experiment–but it’s worth trying to carry over treasures from one year to the next rather than composting them now. From the archives and elsewhere, some plant-specific tactics to inspire your efforts:Japanese maples, top photo (or other marginally hardy shrubs and small trees) in pots How I grow Zone 8 Farfugium (Ligularia, above) a

IWANTED TO MAKE SURE YOU SAW this lovely New York Times piece on NPR’s “minnow,” WHDD from Sharon, Connecticut, the station I’ve been doing my weekly A Way to Garden podcast with for more than a year. Robin Hood Radio, as my nearest public-radio station is known, is NPR’s tiniest affiliate and its newest, a quirky mix of programs from the public radio A-list like “All Things Considered” to a local farm report, and shows like mine somewhere between. Have a read, and then why not have a browse through all the other podcasts my favorite minnow is offering, in case you’re not right here in the ‘hood? (My latest show, on hellebores, is here.)

‘THE SMALLEST NPR STATION in the nation,” Robin Hood Radio, just got bigger, which is good news for them and also for my garden podcast, which we began doing together each Monday morning around 8:30 in March 2010. The station, headquartered in nearby Sharon, Connecticut, has expanded to reach about 150,000 residents, up from 40,000 previously, by adding a signal from the frequency at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.

THE BANG-BANG SOUND FROM THE WOODS this time of year—it’s hunting season!—always reminds me of who isn’t welcome in my garden, thanks to a tall fence.  Keeping deer out, or choosing plants that are somewhat less palatable for the areas where you cannot bar them, was the topic of this week’s podcast.

WITH A NEW BOOK TO SHARE, my traditional winter event season kicks off with extra vigor—just as I hope the garden will in its time. I’ll be in Darien, Connecticut (January 8th); Madison, Connecticut (the 19th); Millerton, New York (the 20th); Manchester, Vermont (the 26th); Cohasset, Massachusetts (the 27th) and Newton Highlands, Massachusetts (the 30th).

When we first met in 1991, I remember madly taking notes on every last thing in Marilyn’s garden, because they were all unfamiliar to me.“At that time,” said Marilyn, “open-pollinated annuals commonly grown in European cottage gardens had been ignored here as gardeners favored the newest of the new hybrid flower varieties.”In the years since, this passionate collector worked to remedy that.Today, modern, environment-focused gear and greenhouse practices help her maintain and expand the impressive collection of oldtimers or old-style charmers that she sells by mail as seed or plants. Select See

“Of all the kinds of pickle I make,” says Nancy, “they are my favorite. They are very sweet, I admit, but I think that’s why they are eaten with simply bread and butter, to balance out the sweetness.” (I had them that way for lunch Saturday. My first pickle sandwich ever was perfect, with a slice of goat cheddar and a few cherry tomatoes on the side.)Nancy’s copy of the original recipe came from her mother, who typed it out and then added handwritten comments in the margins.  (That’s her recipe card, above; click on it to enlarge.)“Mom got it from our over-the-back-fence neighbor in Michigan,” Nancy recalls.  “Viola Whitacre and her husband, Archie, lived in the house behind ours. Archie was the gardener; Viola kept the house and was t

But wreathmaking is serious business at Broken Arrow, the Hamden, Connecticut, rare-plant nursery that had its roots as a Christmas tree farm—and still does a big holiday business in trees. In keeping with Broken Arrow’s take on plants in general, unusual is better. No plain old, plain old wreaths here. I thought sharing some of Andy’s photos might provide all of us gardeners with inspiration to get out into the garden and collect some goodies, and perhaps embellish a basic evergreen wreath ourselves. (Plus, get details of their wreath-making workshops if you’re nearby.)“It’s Broken Arrow’s 68t

On my radio show and podcast, I spoke with Adam Wheeler of Broken Arrow Nursery—growers of a staggering 80 selections of magnolias—about the range of possibilities, and how to care for them.  Plus: Adam’s a champion giant pumpkin grower, and offers some tips on that, too.Understatement: “We’re big magnolia fanatics,” Adam says of Broken Arrow’s collection, which continues to grow. Many more (plus distinctive shrubs, vines, perennials…) are available at the Hamden, Connecticut, retail location than can ship by mail, but good news:Adam Wheeler will be my guest in my Hudson Valley, New York

“Primula veris is the ‘English cowslip’ that was once commonly found in pastures and meadows,” says the American Primrose Society website. The plant, which extends into Siberia, Turkey and Iran, is also one of the parents of the modern polyanthus hybrids—the plant most people envision when you say “primrose.”The species name—veris—means “of spring,” particularly apt once you’ve seen its cheerful yellow flowers held well above ample foliage.So why aren’t we all growing this charmer—which owing to its origins in those meadows of the U.K., Europe and Asia is sturdy enough to hold its own even in competitive quarters such as those I inadvertently subjected it to?“It is not common,” Marilyn Barlo

GARDEN VISITING: Entry to the garden from 10 AM to 4 PM, as for all Garden Conservancy Open Days, will be a suggested $5 donation per adult, with all proceeds to be split by the Conservancy and Friends of Taconic State Park, a local charity. No reservations required for garden visiting.KEN DRUSE LECTURE: Ken Druse‘s 11 AM talk on creating exciting plant combinations will be held at the Church of St. John in the Wilderness, Copake Falls, about 2 minutes’ drive from my garden. Reservations suggested as space is limited; learn more and buy a $20 ticket, to benefit Friends of Taconic State Park.SHOP FOR PLANTS: Broken Arrow‘s plant sale will take place in my driveway from 10 AM to 4 PM. Want to know more about them? Read my recent Q&A about exceptional plants with Adam Wheeler of Broken Arrow of

Dr. Tripp, the voice of Robin Hood Radio’s newest program, “Your Health,” received her D.O. from the University of New England. In previous incarnations she has her BS and MS from Cornell; her Ph.D. from North Carolina State University, where she also served as Curator of Conifers for the famed J.C. Raulston Arboretum, and did postdoctoral work at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. She knows from trees and shrubs—and that’s what we talked about:q&a: great trees for gardens, with kim trippQ.What woody plants always got your recommendation—what did you try to encourage clients to plant when you were making gardens for people, while supporting yourself through medical school? A. The first thing I always did, especially with a new client, was to walk around with them and say, “Let’s just see what’s growing here now–what’s out there and doing well,” and have a look at it and see if we like it or don’t. And we’d go from there.I found a few plants in our region that no matter what the conditions, were always doing well—even with deer browse.They were thi

I’M SELFISH; it’s true–oh, and lazy, too. I sit back and let a giant stand of tall verbena, Verbena bonariensis, sow itself each year just beyond the window I face as I work indoors.

Don’t know Ruth Stout? As I have written before: Long before phrases like “lasagna garden” were making the rounds of the as-yet-uninvented internet, Stout was layering all her organic materials (chopped up cornstalks, fallen leaves and such) on top of her Connecticut garden soil. The idea behind her sheet composting, as it might be called, was to thwart weeds, reduce the need for fertilizers, conserve moisture and spare herself the work of composting in a conventional heap with all the toting and turning of materials.Her no-till approach rests on the foundational principle of applying mulch, mulch and more mulch, and then simply moving it back a tiny bit each year a bit to make room for a row of seeds or seedlings. (Less soil-turning equals fewer weed seeds

I BOUGHT MYSELF a new begonia this year, which quickly became one of the most asked-about plants at my open garden days. The other thing everyone asks about: my lightweight garden hoses. Either one would make a great holiday gift for gardeners—or you could give them to yourself, as I did, along with the item that has become my favorite stocking-stuffer.

I CAN’T WAIT FOR THEM to announce themselves noisily, though readers have been writing in, expressing varying degrees of cicada anxiety. Brood II of the periodical 17-year cicadas—the brood that returns on that uncanny schedule specifically to parts of the East, from Georgia to Connecticut, are already being sighted where soil temperatures have warmed to the preferred 64 degrees.

Tovah is the author of more than a dozen garden books including “Tasha Tudor’s Garden” and “The New Terrarium” and the “The Unexpected Houseplant,” and her newest, “The Indestructible Houseplant” (Amazon affiliate links).Besides our love of begonias, Tovah (find her at her Plantswise Facebook page) and I share a commitment to organic garden practices, indoors and out,. And we are near-neighbors in the corner of the world where Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York’s borders come together.Tovah says she emerged from 25 years work

As Propagation and Plant Development Manager at Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut, Adam Wheeler has to know which ones have built-in deer resistance, because most customers aren’t living behind 8-foot protection (which by the way, doesn’t deter woodchucks and rabbits, so I am not off the pest-control hook).I called Adam for advice about a hugely popular subject that he calls:Read along as you listen to the May 30, 2016 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below, and learn about some of Adam’s favorite conifers, small trees,

Reserve a free ticket below (space is limited!) to Update 7/1: Response to this even has been fantastic, so we are close to capacity. Put your name on the waitlist to come see moths and other flying creatures of the night on white sheets at special blacklight and mercury-vapor light stations set up for us in the Park, including perhaps the giant pandorus sphinx (above) from last year’s walk, who really liked resting on my neighbor’s shirt or Brigette’s nose (below).Before dark, we’ll first examine and release the live catch from special blacklight traps set the night before, to get acquainted with some of the local species. At dark, we’ll venture along Park trails to the various light stations to see the night’s diversity of visitors. We’ll continue till 10 or so, as long as there are moths, and participant interest.The mothing event begins at 8:15 PM at the historic Copake Iron Works, located ad

Andy Brand is longtime nursery manager of the famed mail-order and destination nursery Broken Arrow in Hamden, Connecticut, and each September he and I teach half-day workshops in my rural Hudson Valley, New York, garden–with one part of the workshop being about gardening for the birds. Our next one is Saturday 16, 2017 (details at the bottom of this story, or at this other page).But no matter where you are listening, we talked recently about strategies and plants that bring in the birds and more—particularly the top genera of powerhouse woody plants that fuel fruit production in summer and fall for hungry birds, preceded by spring or summer flowers that support pollinators and other beneficials. I’ve also inclu

THE WIDELY adaptable groundnut has an impressive native range, in areas from temperate to sub-tropical (see the USDA range map), in Zone 4-9. It will even grow in places like cranberry bogs (growers often consider it a weed). It’s usually found in moist areas, where at least part-day sun is available.I have seen Apios growing in the wild once or twice, and a million years ago in a friend’s garden, too; it was something she inherited, I learned, with her very old house in Connecticut, and it was just always there, climbing enthusiastically by the shed, so she went with the flow.I say “enthusiastically,” and various Apios references say “not well-behaved,” but even though it’s a strong grower, invasives have pushed it from many former haunts, as mentioned.If you have a spot to give it where its enthusiasm is not at issue, as in a space of its own in a fringe area, Apios (which may reach 20 feet, but probably les

I’m always happy to see any poppy, anywhere, in all their flouncy forms like old-fashioned party dresses, in a range of colors from delightfully, shockingly bright orange and reds to the palest Victorian-style pastels, and even white.I was thinking of growing more poppies, so I called Marilyn Barlow of Select Seeds, who has tried her hand at more than anyone else I know.I realized that Marilyn and I were sort of h

As our conversation took that unexpected turn, from Begonia to Brugmansia and beyond, apparently my plans for what I’ll grow in pots in the garden this summer shifted, too. Long-blooming brugmansias in a range of colors—some not so big as the traditional types I’d known, and even one that makes a good big basket (top photo)—sounded really good. Other gems from South America and South Africa, some with hummingbird-attracting flowers and others (like Papyrus) just exciting for it’s form and foliage, caught my ear, too.Byron Martin of the famed Logee’s retail and mail-order nursery in Connecticut was my guest on the May 2, 2016 edition of the public-radio show and podcast, and he’ll probably   shake up your idea of annual color as well. Read along as you listen to the May 2, 2016 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (an

About 10 years ago, Dan Furman joined the nursery and mail-order operation his parents Kasha and David had started in 1989 in Connecticut to specialize in Chinese tree peonies, which are still a mainstay of the family business. Well, Dan brought with him a growing interest in edible ornamentals, he says, “to make landscapes more bountiful, not just beautiful.” And with lots of personal research and experimentation, he has added a great assortment of them to the Cricket Hill lineup. That’s Dan, below, in a recent video he did on Cricket Hill’s Instagram, praising Aronia fruit (chokeberry).Read along as you listen to the September 16, 2019 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).unusual fruits, with dan furman of cricket hillMargaret Roach: Welcome Dan. I’m so excited that I saw you at the booth the other day.Daniel Furman

Tovah Martin gardens on 7 acres in Connecticut with some goats, a cat, and a whole lot of plants, both indoors and out. She’s the author of “Tasha Tudor’s Garden” and many other books. We talked about embracing the color brown (and also using blue at both ends of the growing season)–and she told me how to force hyacinths, which she highly recommends as an antidote to winter, and more.Read along as you listen to the Sept. 17, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).every sense and season: a q&a with tovah martinQ. In the book you say you woke up one day and kind of looked out at

I asked Andy to use his recent experience to inspire all of us to dare to open up to a wider plant palette, too, whether by necessity or just for fun, and where to look for inspiration. He’s even just started using a hashtag on social media, #somanyplantstolearn, to celebrate the unknowns.Andy Brand was long-time nursery manager at Broken Arrow rare plant nursery in Connecticut until he moved to Maine and became plant curator at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Since then, he’s been on a steep learning curve, getting acquainted with exciting new plants in the garden’s collections (like feathery Ptilotus, above; photo by Andy Brand) and in the surrounding wild landscape.Read along as you listen

Invasives are our topic today. Trigger warning: The subject of chemical use, and when it outweighs the damage done by invasives, is also part of the discussion.My guest is Christian Allyn, who founded Invasive Plant Solutions when he was still pursuing a double major in horticulture and economics at the University of Connecticut. Rather than just watch the continuing ravaging of natural habitats (like the one in his photo above) by invasive species in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where he practices, he decided to do something, to make it his career path.“This does not have to be our realit

These up-close observations aren’t just visually compelling, though. They also pull him down a rabbit hole of inquiry about who or what he’s looking at, and what’s going on, anyhow, and why? Nature’s endless fascinations and what they can teach us if we allow ourselves the time to explore was the topic of our recent conversation.Andy, who worked for many years at the rare plant specialty nursery Broken Arrow in Connecticut, has since 2018 been at Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, where he is director of horticulture, managing its big-picture garden scenes, while h

Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)*, sometimes known as sweetgrass, is a beautiful ornamental grass celebrated for its displays of pink, purple, or white flowers in the late summer and fall.