Mar 09
Violas are small flowers with an outsized presence in the garden. Their cheerful blooms appear in shades of purple, blue, yellow, white, cream, burgundy, orange, and countless bicolors, often with darker markings that give each flower a distinctive face-like appearance. They are especially valuable because they thrive during cooler weather, when many warm-season annuals are …
Mar 09
Carrots are one of the most familiar vegetables in the garden, but producing long, smooth, sweet roots depends on getting a few important details right. They need loose soil, consistent moisture, careful thinning, and patience during germination. When those conditions come together, carrots are remarkably productive and can be grown through much of the year …
Feb 25
A productive square foot garden starts below the plants. Because vegetables are grown closely together in a relatively small raised bed, the growing mix needs to hold moisture, drain well, provide nutrients, and remain loose enough for roots to spread easily. The traditional square foot gardening soil recipe was developed specifically for this style of …
Feb 19
Tulips are among the most recognizable spring flowers, but the familiar cup-shaped red tulip represents only a small part of the genus. Garden tulips range from tiny species plants only a few inches tall to towering late-season cultivars with large blooms. Flowers may be single, double, fringed, ruffled, lily-shaped, striped, or marked with flashes of …
Feb 18
Few signs of spring are as spectacular as thousands—or even millions—of tulips blooming at once. From carefully designed gardens in the Netherlands to broad flower fields in Washington State, lakeside parks in Switzerland, historic gardens in Istanbul, and colorful terraces beneath the mountains of Kashmir, tulip festivals have become major seasonal attractions around the world. …
Feb 16
Starting tomatoes from seed gives you access to far more varieties than you are likely to find as transplants at a garden center. Heirlooms, paste tomatoes, colorful cherry tomatoes, compact patio varieties, and unusual beefsteaks are all much easier to find when you begin with seed. The challenge is timing. Start tomato seeds too late …
Feb 07
Anemone flowers are a remarkably diverse group of perennials, ranging from tiny spring woodland flowers to brilliant Mediterranean cut flowers and tall Japanese anemones that bloom well into autumn. Their colors include white, pink, red, violet, blue-purple, and magenta, while their growing requirements vary just as widely. That diversity is also why anemone care can …
Feb 03
Anemone flowers are far more diverse than the brightly colored florist anemones most people recognize. The group includes tiny blue spring flowers for rock gardens, white woodland plants that spread beneath deciduous trees, vivid Mediterranean anemones grown for cutting, yellow woodland species, North American wildflowers, and tall Japanese anemones that bloom when summer is beginning …
Feb 01
A cosmos flower field can transform a sunny open area into a moving mass of pink, white, crimson, apricot, yellow, and orange blooms from summer into fall. Unlike a carefully layered cosmos flower bed, a meadow-style planting is designed to look loose, abundant, and natural, with hundreds or even thousands of flowers growing together rather …
Jan 31
Cosmos comes in far more forms than the familiar tall pink flowers often seen in cottage gardens. Modern and heirloom varieties can produce white, blush, crimson, burgundy, pale yellow, apricot, orange, striped, picotee, double, tubular, ruffled, and even cup-shaped flowers, while plant heights range from compact varieties little more than a foot tall to cutting-garden …
