For the next month or so, nearly everyone’s going to have gardening on the brain. We’ll hear a lot of “Why is my [whatsit] plant doing [whatever]?” “How can I …?” And tons of advice about burying banana peels, spraying milk on leaves and mixing up herbal concoctions to resist pests. Save your time and […]
Who would’ve thunk that ‘dirt’ would turn out to be such a dirty four-letter word? Well, a lot of gardeners I know avoid it like the plague, and some would probably like to see it banished from the land of horticultural lingo for good. I once had a student gardener helping me prepare a formal […]
Right around now I start hearing a lot of questions like, “How do I start seeds indoors?” or “What kind of soil should I use?” or even “Help, my seedlings are falling over. What should I do?” Before I answer those – and more – full disclosure: I don’t like to start plants from seed […]
Our gardens are safely tucked away under a blanket of snow and mulch, so what’s happening in the gardening world? Right now, before seed, plant and soil orders grab all your attention, take a moment to mark your calendar with some of the gardening highlights of the coming year. Orchid Show, February 13 and 14: […]
Are you lusting for one of those glamorous holiday urns or arrangements that you see along the street this time of year? Does the price stop you faster than a patch of sticky icing on a kitchen floor? Don’t sigh, my dears. I have some holiday magic that will put a fabulous container of real […]
Everyone oohs and ahhs when they see butterflies in their garden, but most of us probably don’t get too excited when we see bees there. That’s changing – and for good reason. Those little bees that buzz around the flowers are indispensable to human life. I talked with apiarist (a.k.a. beekeeper) extraordinaire Cathy Kozma recently […]
At this time of year, you often see creatures bottoms up, digging in the ground, frantically burying things. I’m talking about gardeners. (Hah! Bet you thought I was referring to squirrels – which do act in much the same way.) Fall, of course, is prime time for planting bulbs that will flower in the first […]
Mention dogs, and you have the immediate interest of every Beacher. Many of us (yeah, I’m one) love our dogs passionately. Some of us can’t stand the nosy, messy beasts. I’m not going to get into questions of courtesy, noise, leashes and poop-picking-up here. My focus is on gardens, and it’s occurred to me that […]
I have a soft spot for small gardens. It’s my belief that it’s easy to have a nice garden if you have lots of space. There’s room to experiment, to indulge in great patches of your favourite plants and to create an exciting design. I’ve seen plenty of the biggies: London’s Kew Gardens, the historic […]
What do cowboys and ants have in common? Well, apart from the ten-gallon hats, pickup trucks and that curious habit cowboys have of spontaneously shouting “yippee yi yo ki yay” at the line dance, ants probably have more in common with the old cowpokes than you might think. I never really paid much attention to […]
