RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS? I don’t think so. Here, the sun is shining, the drought is over, and the first morning glory has unfurled its celestial saucer. Does this old-fashioned Ipomoea violacea ‘Heavenly Blue’ dwell in your garden, too? I like to start my Ipomoeas from seeds, which are first soaked overnight in order to… Read more »
WANT TO GET A JUMP-START on your veggies and flowering annuals (like the zinnia ‘Violet Queen’ above) without the fuss of fluorescent lights? Plant the seeds outdoors, in the same kind of miniature greenhouses used for winter-sowing. Outdoors, seeds won’t germinate as quickly as they would indoors under lights. But they will sprout earlier and… Read more »
Here at A Garden for the House, the season of indoor sowing has commenced. First up? Frost-tolerant Brassicaceae, like ‘Green Goliath’ broccoli, and also slow-to-germinate flower seeds, including Nicotiana ‘Fragrant Cloud’ and ‘Perfumed Purple,’ and Lobelia ‘Sapphire Trailing.’ These last three have been sown in the deli take-out containers pictured above. You might like to… Read more »
I rarely buy annual, perennial, or vegetable seeds from local vendors, because their selections, to be frank, are usually too skimpy for my taste. Take, for instance, petunia seeds. A big box garden center might offer 4 basic varieties. But visit an online seed specialist like Summerhill, and there you will find 55 kinds, including… Read more »
There is nothing like the threat of a killing frost to get a gardener hopping. Although my potted plants were brought indoors long ago, I had neglected — at least until I heard tonight’s forecast — to lift my cherished lemon verbena, parsley, petunias and geraniums (like ‘Apple Blossom Rosebud’, above), from their vulnerable positions… Read more »
A mass of midsummer flowers — either freshly cut from the garden, or acquired from the local florist — can greatly enhance the beauty of a room. I’ve enjoyed a long and lavish season of cut flowers this summer, including the violet zinnias above, here arranged in a blue pedestal vase for my parlor window…. Read more »
YES, I KNOW IT’S STILL AUGUST, but I’m preparing my petunias, wax begonias and impatiens for winter bloom in the house. By starting new plants from stem cuttings now, I’ll have a bevy of fresh, young beauties — and scent from the petunias — ready to bloom in the window garden just as the first… Read more »
