When Daisy Garnett and her husband moved into their London townhouse 10 years ago, the garden was overgrown with ivy and other entrenched species.  It was evident to Daisy that the previous owner, who had lived there since the 1940’s, had been a good gardener when she was younger. There was a well situated apple tree, a mulberry, a lilac and a bay tree, all of which still stand.  There was also a greenhouse that was falling down. After…

  Kiftsgate sits dramatically on the edge of the Cotswolds escarpment in Gloucestershire County, England, an hour’s drive from Oxford and 2 ½ from London. The name Kiftsgate is thought to be the name of an old saxon meeting place, marked by a stone that rests nearby to this day. When Anne Chambers, the present owner, was raising her 3 children in London they would visit Kiftsgate, her childhood home, on…

If you have an orchid and its flowers have fallen off and you don’t know what to do, read on. Chances are your orchid is a Phalaenopsis, or phals for short in orchid circles, since it is the most common available commercially. You have two choices: throw the plant out or follow the instructions below for encouraging it to rebloom! I confess I have thrown my share of orchids on the compost heap because they sat there flowerless for months…

  Order Spring Bulbs-- Bulb catalogs arriving in our mailboxes in September are the equivalent of seed catalogs arriving in January. They are fun to look at, fun to dream about, and a great tool for planning ahead. I buy from Brent and Becky’s, which is a third- and fourth-generation flower-bulb company in Virginia. I’ve always been happy with my purchases, and their customer service is…

August can be a misunderstood month. As gardeners we put our energy into fighting back weeds and thinking about next year’s garden, and often miss the rich variety of flowering plants that the late season has to offer. Garden centers will tell you that most people shop for plants in the spring, and they reach for the plants that are blooming, passing over late season bloomers. That may help explain…

  We spoke with Lisa Ringer of Two Pony Gardens in Long Lake, MN about how she prepares for the dahlia season. Many parts of the country are experiencing a late spring, so her advice on how to lengthen the growing season is particularly relevant this year, even to non-Minnesotans. Here's what she told us, commenting that she has two feet of snow on the ground and it's the middle of April (!)  This is not typical, even for Minnesota.…

We interviewed Rochelle Greyere, garden writer and designer, about creative ways she engages her kids in gardening.  Rochelle is also featured in our current catalog for her extensive peony collection, but more on that later. "Plant experiments are an easy way for adults to help their kids continue to connect to the garden as they get older and into the teen years," says Rochelle. "As my kids get older, it is harder to get them to join me for some hands…

  In the process of creating a successful public private partnership between a garden club and a state park in NY, a historic section of the Hudson Valley Highlands was reinvigorated with native plants, and a pollinator community of bees and birds was established. In addition, the contribution of Jane Colden, America’s first female botanist, was given a voice. Colden, who left behind a voluminous manuscript of her botanical notes, with outline drawings of leaves, lived in NY’s Hudson Valley…

  Many people who might otherwise consider making their own maple syrup are put off by the numbers. Forty gallons of sap yields 1 gallon of syrup. What? My friend Debbie Battaglia is a seasoned vegetable gardener, so she is accustomed to receiving the bounty of her hard work in the form of something tasty that she can share with family and friends. She is also attracted to projects that involve building something, so when she learned that there was…

The system developed by my brother Geoffrey allows him to water his favorite ficas tree from anywhere in the world. First he logs onto the web page he set up to monitor all of the controls in the process. Then he looks at his moisture sensor to see if he needs to water his plant. If the plant needs water he turns on the video camera so he can watch the water going into the pot. Then he turns on…