Horticulture Ideas, Tips & Guides

I KNOW THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE LURE of the garden pulls me outdoors before I change out of my PJs, before I brush my hair, without washing my face. It’s that powerful and seductive a force, indeed, especially with the lawn greening up right now, all verdant and provocative. But I have to say, my dear Andre Jordan, I try to make certain I have my trousers on. Do I sense a pattern in your doodles, a theme of how alcohol figures into horticulture in The Garden According to Andre (and no, I don’t mean for sterilizing pruners):

Full lecture and class descriptions below, along with ticket ordering for succulent events:11 am lecture: ‘succulent love’PRACTICALLY carefree, with low water needs and available in amazing forms in nuanced colors that mix and match beautifully…that’s why succulents have been the rage in horticulture in recent years.In this visually rich talk, longtime collector, nursery owner and garden designer Katherine Tracey will share some of her favorite ways of using both hardy and tender succulents in Northeastern gardens, including using them as ingredients in mixed planters, vertical gardens and lately as the subject of long-lasting cut material for

Hoard cardboard: I’ve stopped putting my corrugated boxes from packaging and other plain cardboard out for recycling. I’ll stockpile all that arrives from now onward, breaking down the boxes and stashing the resulting panels as future weed-smothering, under-mulch control. Learn how it works.Order asparagus: There are some weak stretches in my long row of asparagus, spots where for some reason the old plants just aren’t performing any longer. Time to order more, and maybe plan for another row. Asparagus is an investment crop that pays back for years to c

First, the workshop back story: Last year, Bob Hyland and I started teaching together again, something we hadn’t done in more than a decade, not since our “old lives” in New York City, where he was head of horticulture for Brooklyn Botanic Garden. What started as, “Do you want to do a container workshop at Berkshire Botanical Garden together?” turned into another and another over at his nursery. The bug bit us; we remembered how much fun we have working together this way, so this year’s schedule reflects that.The April and September workshops begin here with light breakfast, tours and teaching in the garden, then we all head over to Loomis Creek for two-plus hours more learning. Hope to see you at some of the events.MARCH Sunday, March 7 – Reading at Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge, MA, with my sister, Marion Roach Smith, to celebrate Paris Press’ publication of its “Sisters” anthology. 2 PM. Free, but must RSVP to in

“Just as a computer comes with certain pre-installed programs, I was born with a fully functional 7.0 horticultural operating system…I wasn’t very popular in high school, where an interest in plants was not something for a guy to admit in public.”Rosalind Creasy, author and edible landscaping guru:“I was in charge of finding the cutworms curled around [my father’s] tomato plants. With every cutworm I found, he would whoop and holler; I felt like I had saved the family from starvation.”Penelope Hobhouse, author and National Trust gardener:“Gardening is not about instant gratification. It is a process—from seedling to flower (a matter of a few weeks) and from small rooted cutting to a useful shrub (often a few years). This whole process, rather than the ultimate product, seems to me half the joy of gardening.”Ken Druse, author and photographer:“Why do I garden? Am I crazy? I don’t

I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO GIVE YOU for the holidays, and so I went window-shopping up and down the aisles of the internet, where suddenly I found just the right thing: the uplifting images by “the camera man” Leslie Jones, from the Boston Public Library’s massive collection. Consider this slideshow my holiday card to you.

ANDREW KEYS, WHO CREATES THE “RADIO GARDEN” PODCAST for “Horticulture” magazine’s website, invited me to talk about my garden, my decision to finally leave the city and live in it, and what gardening means to me.

I’VE BEEN IN THE STUDIO, recording my next book as an audiobook (yes!), editing video slideshows to accompany it, and more. The process is so different from the one nearly 15 years ago, when I published “A Way to Garden,” the book I named this site for a decade later.

I LEFT HOME LAST WEEK (without telling Jack first!) for a lecture in Baltimore, the farthest I’ve been from here in more years than I can recall. Besides a great crowd at the event held by the Maryland Horticultural Society, there was an extra treat: I got to meet Susan Harris, one of the four bloggers who collaborate on the wildly popular site called Garden Rant.

GOODREADS IS LIKE a giant online book club that never sleeps. It’s amazing, and it’s free; a great place to get tips from other keen readers on books to look out for, according to your interests, and to “talk” to authors. Katrina Kenison (author most recently of “Magical Journey: An Apprenticeship in Contentment”) and I will be there Monday February 25 for an open forum, to answer your questions about our new (or older) books, about writing, or about whatever you feel like asking about.In our in-person events recently, the topics have ranged from finding midlife friendship, to raising adolescent boys (or unruly plants), to recipes we’ve swapped and books we’ve both read, to our writing “process” (I pace, she sits still)—no kidding, that wide a range, and more. Fun! So come share whatever’s on your mind. Won’t you sign up and join us?the in-person eventsSaturday, February 23, afternoon, 2 PM: Gardening-and-more conversation and reading

Marion (with an impressive cabbage, below), is like her older sister and our parents a writerly type. Decades ago she began leaving voicemails that always started with, “I’ve got an Urgent Garden Question,” and then revealed her latest horticultural crisis.  In the early years, I suspected she was just trying to come up with an ice-breaker, and didn’t really need advice.We’d had some rough patches, as sisters do, and I knew she had a Master Gardener certificate—so why did she need my help? But it gave us a reason to speak, and get past things that had been in the way. For that I thank her (as I did in this 1989 essay and have been doing ever since). And I thank her for helping me solve my “how to do Q&A on the air” question, too.have a question to ask?WE’LL PUT OUT A CALL for your latest questions on Facebook before each Q&A edition of the radio show, and you can also ask here on the blog anytime. Each month I’ll gather the best ones—best as in likely to be most helpful to others—and answer them on the air.a way to garden

SO MUCH FOR DOING THE RIGHT THING garden-wise–you know, growing vegetables in the front yard (if that’s where the most sun is) or turning part of the lawn to a meadow to attract all those beneficial-insect types. Such wild behavior has its consequences, as we have heard repeatedly on the news in tales of code-violating horticultural adventures.

I LOATHE DYED MULCH, among other pet peeves I see here and there in gardens (and every gas-station curbside bed).

I need your help, in the form of a short survey (link at the bottom of this story), to decide if it’s a good idea, and what format it might take. The survey probably won’t take you more than 5 minutes to complete.Background: For more than 20 years, I’ve lectured to garden audiences, and also hosted Garden Conservancy Open Days at my own garden in the Hudson Valley of New York (as I will again).In 2016, in response to visitors’ requests requesting more time to chat and ask questions than is possible at the big tours, I added smaller, more personal half-day

SOMETIMES IT’S THE PLANT WE BOUGHT (as in “wrong plant, wrong place,” above); other times the cause of our gardener’s lament-bordering-on-shame is a little trickier, more the stuff you’d have to sort out by the 50-minute hour, on the couch. Over the years Andre Jordan, my doodling friend, has reminded me of more than just a few of my horticulturally induced regrets, including these:

Except that I didn’t tell anybody. Not my parents (who were journalists, and would have been especially proud to share the excitement ahead of time but instead were startled to see it there on the printed pages one Sunday morning); not my non-work friends, nor my sister.I’ve always been like that: keeping things close to the vest to a fault. (We could exhume Dr. Freud for a quick consult on why, but maybe let’s not bother.)In the

Do you have the curiosity to know more about White Broccoli? Well, time to uncover the truth! Read on!

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.

Set in the grounds of the historic Hampton Court palace, 15 beautiful Show and Get Started gardens will be on display for visitors, along with talks, demos, and workshops from horticultural experts who are on hand to offer expert advice and help you translate the inspiration into your green space. Particular highlights include a feature garden by this year’s Iconic Horticultural Hero Carol Klein, whose design boasts six different habitats, and Jo Thompson will be creating a wildlife garden which showcases ‘accidental’ landscapes that can be utilised to create green corridors in our urban spaces.

Each year the Royal Horticultural Society runs comprehensive trials of popular garden plants to find those that are the best to grow. A three-year trial of sanguisorba came to its conclusion recently, and lots of excellent garden-worthy varieties won the Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

Have a growing house plant collection and not sure about their care when you take off for vacation? The best way is to have a family or friend come over to help, but sometimes this may not be possible. Many indoor plants can survive a week without their parents' care, but you’ll want to consider some factors, such as lighting, and giving them a thorough watering before you leave. There are several tips and tricks to ensure your plants manage without you. We asked Southern horticulturists for their best plant care tips while you’re away

Growing fruit trees isn’t always easy. The pests, the late freezes, and the skill necessary to prune them right can feel a bit overwhelming.It’s especially frustrating when someone

In certain parts of the United States, people have been affected by wildfires and the resulting smoke for years, dealing with air quality warnings and orange, dusty skies on a semi-regular basis. But this year, wildfires burning in Canada have put other regions at risk, and apocalyptic-looking skies have prompted fresh questions for those unfamiliar with wildfires and their effects: Should I wear a mask outside? Can I leave my windows open? Do I need to clean my air filters?

Variety is the spice of life, and cultivated varieties are the spice of landscaping.Like the taste of Old Bay Seasoning on shrimp, finding

Strangely beautiful and intricately designed, lace bugs are fascinating little plant pests.Not to be confused with the similarly named

Create a stunning display in pots and containers with these best lilies for pots and containers. Discover the perfect lilies that thrive in limited spaces, bringing beauty and elegance to your garden.

You know how it's illogical that people take escalators and elevators and then go to the gym to use the stair machine? The same could be said for people who go to the supermarket for produce and then go to the gym to workout. Why not just combine the two and do some work in the garden?

Each year the Royal Horticultural Society runs comprehensive trials of popular garden plants to find those that are the best to grow. A three-year trial of sanguisorba came to its conclusion recently, and lots of excellent garden-worthy varieties won the Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

I had to memorize a lengthy list of invasive pests’ Latin names in my pest identification class, and to help me remember, I imagined the trees groaning out a silent mantra of despair when they realized a generation of the defoliating caterpillars of Lymantria dispar were emerging.The name has stuck in my head ever since.Though the moths

If you are looking for different Ways to Identify Houseplants, then you have arrived at the right place! Find out all about the best options here.

Hydrangea season is upon us. The South Carolina Botanical Garden has a designated Hydrangea Garden across from the Hanover House. Hydrangeas are a multi-stem, woody shrub native to Asia and the Americas. Our native hydrangeas include the smooth and the oakleaf; both grow in hardwood forests with moist, humus-rich soil.

In this article, we will delve into Bleeding Heart Flower Meaning and Facts, uncovering intriguing details about the characteristics and cultural significance of these flowers.

If you’re growing apple trees, I’m sorry to say you’re almost certainly going to become acquainted with one (or more) of the pests on this list at some point.I’m not saying that in the case of an infesta

People usually associate crotons as container plants, but they can also be cultivated as tall specimens. Here are some tips on  How to Grow Big Croton like a Tree  that’ll help you to flaunt it as a tall specimen in your yard!

Set in the grounds of the historic Hampton Court palace, 15 beautiful Show and Get Started gardens will be on display for visitors, along with talks, demos, and workshops from horticultural experts who are on hand to offer expert advice and help you translate the inspiration into your green space. Particular highlights include a feature garden by this year’s Iconic Horticultural Hero Carol Klein, whose design boasts six different habitats, and Jo Thompson will be creating a wildlife garden which showcases ‘accidental’ landscapes that can be utilised to create green corridors in our urban spaces.

All the latest garden news and the best UK garden events to look out for in July.