Do you want to enjoy fresh, home-grown veggies this summer? Perhaps you’d like to adorn your home with fresh-cut flowers. Whatever the reason, this year you’ve decided to start a garden of your own. But before you grab a spade and head for the backyard, put pen to paper and make a plan. Dream as big...

Summer bulbs, which are planted in the spring after danger of frost, extend the garden’s blooming season well into summer until frost. Their glorious and often fragrant flowers and plants continue to provide nutrients and shelter for our treasured pollinators. Most bulbs planted in autumn that bloom...

Gladiolus are as American as apple pie. Generations of gardeners, from Maine to California, have tucked these summer-blooming bulbs into their gardens in spring and been delighted by the gorgeous flower spikes that appear just a few months later. Buckets of long-stemmed glads are a late-summer tradi...

Spring is for the birds! This is the time of year when migratory birds who have been vacationing in their tropical homes fly north to their annual breeding grounds. They are busy building nests, finding mates, and populating our bird feeders. It is prime bird-watching season. There are many ways to ...

I live for a wide, open view of the world. That’s why I love the ocean so much – and deep valleys, and high mountaintops (my fear of heights would make me falter, but the majesty of it all takes your breath away). It’s a beautiful thing to stand, your feet planted firmly and connected and grounded w...

By now, even if you don’t practice composting, you know what it is and how it works. Compost itself is organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. Food scraps and yard waste together currently make up more than 30% of what we throw away, and could be composted instead, according ...

In addition to Kids Gardening Month, April is Lawn and Garden Month, and it has perfect timing. Hopefully, your snow has melted (or will soon) and you can start to enjoy your own little slice of heaven. There are many things you can do to enjoy and enhance your lawn outside of gardening, though. The...

As April focuses on gardening with kids, it makes me think about the fun my sisters and I have with houseplants and perennials. I come from a long line of gardeners, some from necessity, some for the beauty and healing qualities of gardening. My maternal grandmother was an avid gardener and had a sp...

Individualized coaching coupled with an app for tracking could help families greatly reduce some types of food waste, in turn helping combat climate change. That’s a finding from a recent study co-led by Brian Roe, holder of the Fred N. VanBuren Professorship in Farm Management at the Ohio State Uni...

April is Kids Garden Month and what better time to share your love of gardening with a child? From learning what it takes to grow your food to spending time with family to encouraging a child’s curiosity, gardening has many benefits. Starting with small projects based on your child’s age, ability an...

Are you ready for an early season gardening adventure? Seed displays are prevalent right now in stores from garden shops to supermarkets. Grab a pack of seeds (or two or three) to start indoors. With a few basic supplies, by the time the weather is suitable for planting outside, you’ll have some hom...

For a stunning display of blooms in early spring, most New England gardens would benefit from the addition of a remarkable perennial: the hellebore. Among the first plants to herald spring, hellebores have gained huge popularity due to their many laudable qualities. Hellebores are non-invasive everg...

This story originally appeared in our sister publication, Country Folks Grower . We thought it would be a good idea to share it here too. In a 1,700-square-foot orchard, hidden away in what used to be a junkyard for the sculpture department at Syracuse University, is the remarkable Tree of 40 Fruit....

Not sure of Mother Nature’s motive in delivering some spring snow during “March Madness,” but I appreciate opening the door and getting a delectable whiff of onions simmering. It can only mean one thing – French onion soup is in my future. In a seemingly daily ritual of asking the computer random fa...

It’s that time of year to start thinking about backyard picnics and patio drinking. What do you have in your garden that could make a fresh cocktail? While we think about the cocktails we’re going to sip, we should also think about what we could plant in our gardens or have growing around us to add ...