Latest Gardening News
These plants wait their whole lives to bloom once. It's usually spectacular
Flowering annuals generally bloom nonstop before dying at the end of the year or season. Perennials return every year, providing either season-long color, a burst of blossoms followed by sporadic blooming or a limited show that can last as little as two weeks. And biennials flower only in their...
Green agendas clash in Nevada as company grows rare plant to help it survive effects of a mine
GARDNERVILLE, Nev. (AP) — A botanist gently strokes the pollen of endangered wildflowers with a paintbrush as she tries to reenact nature inside a small greenhouse in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada. It's part of a lithium mining company's grand experiment intended to help keep an...
A sweet, native and nutritious snack from the garden? Look no further than blueberries
I’ve been growing dwarf blueberries for three years, and my plants are covered in green fruits right now. Deliciously sweet and rich in fiber, manganese, potassium, vitamins C and K, and antioxidants, the berries are native to North America and can be grown throughout most of the continent. ...
The heat has affected my garden for good (tall tomatoes) and bad (tick alert)
With much of the U.S. sweltering through heat waves, gardeners are seeing some dramatic changes. I’ve noticed them in my suburban New York garden, where the temperature this week has been exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with a “feels like” rating of nearly 10 degrees hotter,...
Keep your kettle whistling all year round by growing your own tea plants
The typical backyard food grower is familiar with planting greens, tomatoes, peppers, squash, herbs, berries and other staples, plus perhaps a few exotic crops that are difficult to find at the grocery store. Beverages, however, aren’t usually at the top of their lists. I’ve...
Getting rid of poison ivy is a serious matter. What you should and shouldn't do
For all the time I spend digging, planting, pulling and weeding, one would think I’d have some poison ivy horror stories to tell, but I do not. I can’t say for sure whether I’m immune to the rash that tortures so many of my fellow gardeners or if I’ve just been lucky, but one thing is for...
You don't have to live in the tropics to grow peanuts
Peanuts are generally grown in southern climes. Most come from China, India, Nigeria and the southern U.S., which all fall squarely in climates in or similar to USDA hardiness zones 8-11. Which is to say, their summers are long enough to allow for the up to 150 days necessary for...
How to find that tricky balance between lawn and not-lawn. And care for it sustainably
In lawn care, as in politics, an extreme, black-or-white approach can be impractical and turn off the masses. But in the garden, at least, gray can be the perfect shade of green. Take, for instance, the No Mow May movement. Is it necessary to allow your entire property to turn into a...
Yes, you can have a tidy native-plant garden. Here are some tips
For decades, native plants were relegated to the “weed” section of many American gardeners' minds. Most nurseries didn’t stock them. But that’s slowly changing. Native plants provide food and shelter for bees, butterflies, birds and other beneficial critters. They...
Luckily for cooks and gardeners, some herbs come back year after year
If you like to cook, odds are you’re painfully aware of the price of herbs at the supermarket. But for the cost of a 1- or 2-ounce plastic clamshell packet, you can buy a plant that will produce aromatic herbs for your kitchen all summer long – and even year after year. Perennial...
