Andrew Bunting is vice president of horticulture at Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), where he promotes gardening for the greater good. PHS supports healthier neighborhoods through horticulture by cleaning and greening vacant lots, planting and maintaining street trees, partnering with community gardeners to share resources and conserve productive open space, and demonstrating ecologically sound gardening practices in public gardens throughout the greater Philadelphia area. Andrew’s extensive public gardening career includes time spent at Chicago Botanic Garden, Chanticleer, and 27 years at the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. His Fine Gardening articles have covered topics like autumn-flowering trees, shrubs for shade, and selecting trees for structure. In this episode, he discusses the evolution of his home garden, the lessons learned from the many gardens his hands have touched, and the potential for making our shared landscapes more sustainable and inclusive.
Six on Saturday: Breaking Rules and Other Quirky Stuff
18.08.2024 - 00:05 / ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com / Cathy
Well, I did it: after a few light showers, I took the plunge and moved the roses as planned, breaking all recognised rules about moving and replanting. The existing roses in the rose garden are now planted closely together in groups of 3 of the same variety, to give the impression of larger bushes, together with the new additions making a total of eight varieties in the enlarged bed, leaving the terraced beds either side of the bus shelter empty for some hardy perennials.
The showers we had amounted to no more than half an inch of rain, still very welcome after several dry weeks, but I was puzzled when I came downstairs this morning to find our weather monitor had registered 101mm of rain in the early hours, around 4 inches!Rain this heavy would have woken me up and, looking outside, the ground was very definitely dry… The monitor had to be moved when we had the external insulation installed and was attached instead to the framework from which we hang bird feeders, on the face of it a good location, but closer inspection showed that the hedge had now encroached and was threatening to subsume the monitor entirely! I have visions of a fat wood pigeon sitting there this morning, his weight skewing the statistics – unfortunately, these statistics are automatically fed into a wider database, so will forever remain an anomaly… Meanwhile, the monitor has been moved further from the hedge, and is now attached to the front of the structure instead.
The Golfer has been given the task of dealing with the cherry tree stump at the back of the shed, mentioned last week. We were both surprised to find that when the bulk of the ivy was removed there were actually two stumps underneath it! We were equally surprised to see the size of the
Episode 166: Gardening for the Greater Good with Andrew Bunting
How to Make a Marigold Garland
How to Make a Marigold Garland Make any celebration special with a string of colorful marigold blooms. Follow these simple steps to make a beautiful marigold garland! How to make a marigold garland
SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report- September 3, 2024
The weather has turned dry over much of the state. Muscadines are coming to harvest as planting begins for some fall crops. Strawberry growers are still scrambling to make arrangements for the rapidly approaching planting season. See details below.
Astronomers have warned against colonial practices in the space industry − a philosopher of science explains how the industry could explore other planets without exploiting them
Header image: A NASA artist concept of future crews living and working on the Moon. NASA/Davidson
In a Vase on Monday: Softly Gleaming
I have unashamedly but apologetically ‘borrowed’ the idea for today’s vase from last week’s contribution by Jenny of Zone Three Garden (sorry Jenny, and thanks!), in which she placed several stems of rudbeckia in a clear glass vase, held in place by aquarium pebbles. It made such a striking arrangement, the bare stems serving to emphasise its elegance.
Six on Saturday: Bloomers and Busyness
It has been busy in the garden recently, although perhaps it always is, juggling the less exciting seasonal maintenance with more gratifying tweaks and improvements. A number of new plants have been ordered, although where possible I have moved plants from elsewhere or used leftovers from those grown for sale. Meanwhile, the garden ticks over by itself, albeit slowing down but bringing joy with every new bloom, like a fresh flush of roses on ‘Strawberry Hill’ (above), currently awaiting a new structure to support its abundance of blooms during the season, now likely to be a winter project.
SC Fruit and Vegetable Field Report – August 26, 2024
Strawberry growers are scrambling to find disease-free plants. Late-season disease and insect pressure is picking up, and muscadines and other fall crops are nearing harvest. See details below.
How to Grow and Care for Weigela Shrubs
How to Grow and Care for Weigela Shrubs Weigela spp.
Tortilla Chips, Fresh Salsa, and a Greener Planet: How Recycled Glass Can Boost Your Garden
Header image: Cilantro seedlings grown in 100% recycled glass material. Image credit: Andrea Quezada
Six on Saturday: In the Moment
For the first time in many weeks, or so it seems, rain stopped me from getting out in the garden – no, that’s not true, it deterred me for a while but it wasn’t raining heavily so I girded my loins and went for a belated first-thing-in-the-morning ramble, ducking under drooping climbers and lifting my skirts (decorously!) as I passed overhanging borders. Taking my secateurs, I accomplished some deadheading whilst rambling, picked some tomatoes in the greenhouse, planted out some seed-sown Lychnis coronaria on the terraced beds in the rose garden and pondered what I might include in today’s Six on Saturday, the meme hosted by Jim of Garden Ruminations.
Tea Break Tutorials
Join Alan Titchmarsh in a new Tea Break Tutorial series as he explores key gardening issues from combatting slugs and snails, to pond care, summer pruning, feeding and dividing plants, deadheading flowers and growing vegetables for winter. Here’s your handy expert guide to gardening.