GRANDMA raised them, her darling hens and chicks–and no, I’m not referring to the egg-producing flock of adorable Bantam poultry in my Grandmother’s backyard, but to her Sempervivum, succulent plants that hugged the ground with their sculptural rosettes, at least till flowering time–when up shot tall stems with dusty pink blooms, if my memory serves.
Years later, when visiting English gardens, I’d smile to see what are referred to as “houseleeks” happily growing on shed roofs, out of stone walls, and in other unfussy spots.
These days at nurseries and in plant catalogs, Grandma’s version, the Sempervivum, are just the start–joined by what my friend Katherine Tracey of Avant Gardens Nursery calls “the other hens and chicks.”
I got inspiration on the creative use of succulents from Kathy on my public-radio show and podcast. Read along as you listen to the April 18, 2016 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).
my succulent q&a with katherine tracey
Q. I want to ask how you became a succulent collector—and even saying “collector” is sort of an understatement considering how many you have amassed over the years. But first: Dare I tell you about the first perennial garden I ever made like 30-something years ago included Sempervivum? It was really embarrassing. [Laughter.]
A. Tell me more.
Q. Well, you’re a famous garden designer…so close your eyes and visualize this incredible idea: I was a beginning gardener; I knew nothing. I made a little bed, and went to the local nursery. Then some perennials were sold in almost like 6-packs, like tomatoes are. I bought an equal number of hens and chicks and
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Living and working in northwestern Oregon, garden designer Wesley Younie is no stranger to dealing with challenging environments. When presented with this garden’s elevation changes, drainage management, and extreme climate conditions, he devised a plan that addresses it all—along with a specific functional wish list from the homeowners. Want to know which plants he used? Here are the plant IDs for this beautiful, sustainable landscape.
What brings the biggest joy to a person is seeing they helped someone be happy, too. In Fantastic Gardeners’ case, it was the creation of a spot for the children of the Acol Nursery school to play, explore and feel more homely. In our previous session we set the stage for the stars of the show to appear – it was already March and it was high time for flowers to march forward.
With spring coming to its peak, we at Fantastic Gardeners decided to take a look back at the beginning of this jolly and fresh season and at one recent good deed. The Acol Nursery in London reached out to us back in February with the little asking to help them get their outdoor gardens in order.
If you’re anything like us, then you love your dog and want to include them in as many of your daily activities as possible. Every dog owner has experienced the joy, frustration, and laughter caused by our four-legged friends who decide to help us complete a task and, in most cases, create even more chaos as a result.
Have you recently cut a tree in your garden and are now left with a stump to deal with? If so, you’re in luck, as in this post, you’ll learn of all the effective ways of removing a tree stump. These include using your hands, digging, burning, grinding or applying a chemical stump remover.
Hedera, which we commonly refer to as English Ivy (pl. Ivies), is a family of around 20 species of evergreen perennial plants. Depending on their surroundings, these woody plants can be both ground creeping or climbing nearby trees, rocks, buildings, and pretty much anything they can lay their stems on.
Ulex europaeus better known as Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a very prickly shrub of the pea family. Western gorse Ulex gallii is frequent in the western side of Britain and is relatively low growing yet robust. Dwarf gorse or Ulex minor is a low growing, sprawling shrub.
YES, OF COURSE I know about the more backbreaking ways to make a new bed, but lately I confess I’ve been relying more and more upon the magic of recyclables: newspaper and cardboard to be specific.
When Katherine Tracey and her husband, Chris, aren’t manning Avant Gardens, their longtime retail and mail-order nursery in Dartmouth, Massachusetts–which I am proud is a sponsor of A Way to Garden, and a friend—they are out helping others make, and refine, their landscapes. Chris is a master dry-stone artisan, so his work is often one signature of their landscapes.The “sense of place” of the nursery (which is also their home), as Katherine describes it: “Intimate, but not fussy, with a wide variety of plants, but not one of this and one of that everywhere.”In a Q&A, Katherine and I talked about taking a sharper look at our home landscapes with an eye to enhancements.my garden-design q&a with katherine traceyQ. What are the most common reasons h
I ONLY GOT TO PAGE 5 of the new “Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America” before I was hooked. “Moths are everywhere,” it proclaims, and (hearing that as a challenge) I simply stood up, got my camera and went outside for a mere 10 minutes. The authors were right: Even though it was sunny midday, I photographed seven species (including the luna moth, above), and got so excited trying to ID them, I wrote to co-author Seabrooke Leckie—a stranger—and sent her my shots.
Now as a rural dweller I mostly talk to the birds outside, so Skype and phone sessions have to substitute. My friend Katherine Tracey and I got into it the other day–lots of, “Have you ever grown (fill in the blank)?” or, “Did you see the new color of (insert Latin plant name)?” and then wondering aloud if each one is really a good performer or not, and worth trying.I thought it would be fun to bring all of you into the conversation, too, so once you listen to our chat, tell us your own powerhouse plants, in the comments. Read along as you listen to the Feb. 15, 2016 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).Background on