General Gardening Topics

Why grow in pots when we have so much dirt? Apartments, balconies, sure, but why would a woman with an acre of good land have over 100 containers? This may be my favorite topic!

No question but that gardeners have a sense of humor.  Why else would one definition of a perennial be this ironic pearl:  a perennial is a plant that, had it lived, would have bloomed again for several years.

When audio touches a person, emotions respond. At its best, audio creates a wave that washes through the listener's head and leaves a lasting impression. Hope you enjoy the podcasts here and will link to the radio network, too.

Listen Now! Fresh Harvest Podcasts

Listen and Watch on Saturdays! Link to Weekend Gardening at SuperTalk,fm

In late summer 1998, I visited the world's premier collection of bamboos housed at Quail Botanic Garden in San Diego, and it started me thinking.  I was impressed by the attitude of the stewards, volunteers mostly, who make me it their business to cultivate the place: every clump well-defined, runners neatly kempt, all plants labeled.  I reveled in the bamboos:

Gardening is definitely not about re-inventing the wheel. There's a world of information to wade through, but here are some suggestions to expand your knowledge base.

They call it ‘fall’ for a good reason: autumn leaves dropping everywhere, including the lawn. Weekly raking can be a chore, but many advocate it as healthier for the grass below. Others scoff, saying wait awhile, rake alot at once and be done with it.

Clay and gumbo soils, warm night temperatures, and long growing seasons conspire to decompose any amount of organic matter a gardener works into the beds.

Gardeners who grow annuals know salvia as a bright red summer flowering plant, with names like “Red Hot Sally” (S. splendens), a twelve inch power pack of a plant, ideal for mass plantings.

Parents and Kids magazine asked me to write on this subject for their publication a few years ago. It gave me a chance to reflect on the central MS area's evidences of spring, but look around and you'll find the same sorts of joys in your own area.

First written for GroGroup Garden Almanac, a now-defunct publication of that fine garden center trade group.

Maybe you spend all weekend gardening; maybe, like most people, your garden gets somewhat less attention than you’d like. The perennial bed looks a bit overgrown or nearly empty when it’s not peak bloomtime.

One of my best-received programs covers a great group of plants I love, with my stories about each of them, and my garden ideas for their use and culture. The program changes every year as I shift my personal focus and slide collection to reflect more and more of 'my favorite plants.'

Not really a lazy alternative, but a simple solution for making a garden walk that's much easier to do than forms and poured concrete.

The notion of defining or surrounding outdoor space with plants grown in rows--hedges--can be traced back at least as far as ancient Greece (2100 BC). The very name, ‘garden’, derives from the same root words as enclosure, yard, and even girdle, meaning ‘to surround.’

There is no required reading in gardening. Lots of people learn all they need to know by watching others and asking questions, by trial and error, or plain good luck.

Tropical plants belong on every deck, patio, and sun porch. These fast growing, bold textured beauties set a sunny mood that welcomes your guests to summer’s outdoor lifestyle.

Wave a peppermint stick under someone’s nose and they’ll likely say, “Smells like Christmas!” Or pop open a can of cherry soda and right away, they’ll remember the cooler in the back of the bowling alley on a hot summer day.

My life has mostly been spent in places where the weather is hot and the food hotter. From tabasco peppers to habaneros, from spicy breakfast sausage to the bun-sized wonders called 'hot links' or 'red hots', we eat hot at every meal. Think of these websites as virtual hot links and enjoy the feast.

Read on, Gardeners. In case you didn't know, the internet world runs on 'clicks'. Each time you click somewhere, it counts. Not only do I thank you for reading more of my work at these sites, I thank you for counting me among your 'clicks.'